


Before The Madness

by emmiegrace



Series: Mad, Beautiful, Fantastic Universe [3]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Child Loss, Episode Fix-It: s02e13 Doomsday, Episode Fix-It: s04e13 Journey's End, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, Telepathic Bond, Telepathy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-03-19 09:09:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13701360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmiegrace/pseuds/emmiegrace
Summary: Collection of prequel stories to Mad, Beautiful, Fantastic, but can all be read alone as well. Each chapter is its own stand-alone story.





	1. How long are you going to stay with me?

“Hang on though, Doctor, you never really said.” Ida spoke up before he could sever the connection to the rocket. “You two, who are you?”

At that he looked over to his pink-and-yellow human who had stolen his hearts the second he saw her. The girl with time in her eyes. “Oh…” he let out, breathless as she gave him that tongue-touched smile that sent his pulse racing. “The stuff of legend.” He grinned, and then ended the call, turning to lift Rose off her feet again with a passionate and slightly desperate kiss.

“Mmm,” she hummed contentedly as they pulled away. “What was that for?”

The Doctor’s arms were still around her waist and he tugged her closer at that. “I just love you quite a lot.” He told her, and could instantly feel her pleasure and love in return as her barely-there-to-begin-with telepathic barriers never did anything to shield him from her always so intense emotions. He sucked in a breath as he once again fought the urge to fully bond with her- the ring he’d started making as soon as they’d left New Earth shortly after he’d regenerated burning a hole in his pocket like it had been for the last year.

And then they’d found out she was telepathic…

And now. A year since he’d finally admitted he’d loved her. He couldn’t imagine his life without her. He didn’t want to. He knew he’d have to lose her eventually, but… God, was she was worth it.

He let out a long breath as Rose repeated the words to him, and kissed her again quickly. “Right, get your coat. There’s somewhere I’ve been meaning to take you.”

She raised her eyebrows at that, but didn’t question it further, disappearing around the corner as he began typing in the coordinates. 

 

Rose took a deep breath as they stepped out onto the flat rock beaches of Aeternum, and The Doctor watched her carefully as she walked forward. She could feel that time was flowing differently here- he knew she could. He added that to the list of things he needed to look into.

“Where are we?” She whispered, as she looked up to the orange-purple sky where a flock of air stingrays were passing over the sunset through the tall rock spires and archways carved by time.

“Aeternum.” He sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets and closing his fist around the ring box. He nodded towards the far corner of the horizon where a shimmering golden, pink, blue, and green rift in the sky shone down on the planet. “And over there is the Medusa Cascade. A rift in time and space…” He drifted off as Rose sucked in another breath.

“Is that why it feels so different here?” She asked, tearing her eyes away from the nebula to look up to him. “Like it’s… purer?”

His hearts stopped at that. As the closest surviving planet to the rift, Aeternum was considered to be where time was in in purests state. Many races believed that a promise made on the planet could withstand the tests of time because of that.

The Doctor, of course, told her none of this. Just nodded, and looked back up to the sky as he steeled himself, Rose following suit to look reverently up towards the the time rift. He glanced over to her and saw time dancing in her eyes. “How long are you going to stay with me?” He finally breathed out.

Rose looked over to him. “Forever.” She said simply, like it was that easy. In the same way she always did when he asked her that question. And like always, he felt the timelines sing in agreement at the word. 

Hearts full, The Doctor pulled the box out before he could second guess himself again. He held her gaze as he opened it, and watched as she took in the ring. He’d engraved the outside of the silver band in circular Gallifreyan, the space-time coordinates for where each of them were born- a trillion light years and hundreds of years apart- and at its center sat the Gallifreyan diamond white-point star –the last one in existence, and on either side TARDIS blue sapphires rested.

Rose reached out a shaking hand and ran her thumb over the ring reverently, smirking a bit as she did. She looked up to his nervous but love-filled eyes. “You told me about marriage bonds,” she started, “you said they were forever…” She drifted off and reached up to sooth the furrow from his brow. “But my forever is so much shorter than yours.”

“I don’t care.” He told her, with so much conviction Rassilon himself would have backed down. And it was odd, because it was true. That fact that had him keeping her at arm's length for so long now seemed insignificant compared to how much he loved her. “I love you.” He said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer.

“I love you too.” She whispered, and then went up on her toes to kiss him slowly. “But I don’t want to hurt you.”

The Doctor shook his head vehemently at that. “Rose, you could never hurt me. If you don’t want to-”

Rose cut him off with a passion headshake of her own. “I do, I do,” she said quickly, realising she hadn’t said it yet. “I just… I don’t want  _ you _ to regret it, later.”

At that he bent down to kiss her again, more fiercely this time. “Rose Tyler,” he breathed, pressing his forehead against hers when they finally broke apart. “I could never regret loving you.”

“You’re sure?” She asked quietly.

“You’re the only thing I’ve ever been sure about.” He told her honestly.

Finally, she smiled up to him, giving him that lovely tongue-touched one again. “I’d love to marry you.” She said happily.

The Doctor grinned brilliantly at those words, and pulled back to take the ring from its box and slip it onto her finger, placing a kiss there, and then to her lips. “I love you so much.” He whispered reverently.

Rose pulled him closer and kissed him deeply.


	2. Forever

As soon as they stepped back into the TARDIS she’d flashed her light and dinged happily in congratulations, and Rose felt a sort of telepathic hug from the time ship as her love and excitement enveloped her.

Rose grinned and skipped over to the console, letting the TARDIS guide her through the close-to-familiar motions of flying them into the time vortex. She winked over to The Doctor when she felt him watching her and beamed at the blush that came to his cheeks at being caught. She walked over and wrapped her arms around his shoulder, placing a quick kiss to his lips and pulling away before his hands could fully settle on her hips. She giggled at the little whine that escaped him as he tried to hold onto her. “I’ll be right back.” She promised, and then dashed off down the corridor before he could argue.

When she got to their room there was ring box sitting on her bed.

Giving a curious glance to the TARDIS she walked over to it, and let out a little astonished breath when she popped the lid open.

Inside, a ring made of TARDIS blue metal sat, with a band of brushed silver, and another of rose gold wrapped around it. As Rose ran her fingers over it Gallifreyan engravings appeared, and the TARDIS helpfully translated them for her– _‘Forever My Doctor.’_

She picked it up and clasped it tightly in her hand. “Thanks dear.” She whispered to the ship, and then ran into the closet to get changed.

She shuffled through the endless array of clothes for a long while, but in the end she realised she didn’t want anything fancy. She found a navy pleated skirt to match The Doctor’s suit, and donned a sheer white blouse to tuck into it, slipping on her red heels with the bows just for the hell of it.

His jaw still went slack when she stepped back into the console room.

He lifted her up to twirl her around while he kissed her after she handed him the ring.

 

They flew into the light of the Medusa Cascade, and stood in the TARDIS doors as they said their vows.

“Rose Tyler,” The Doctor started, holding her hands as she smiled up to him. “Eight hundred years I lived without you and every day since I met you I’ve wondered how I did…” He drifted off as he got caught up in the onslaught of love that came from her at that, and shook his head in wonder. “I’ve realised since, that all that running I was doing– I’d been running towards you that whole time. All that travelling around– I was looking for you. But nothing could have prepared me for what the privilege of being yours would do. I was just this curious little speck that got caught up in orbit, and you were pulling me towards you. Just to turn my darkness to dust.”

She smiled up at him with tears in her eyes and he had to pause to take his thumb and wipe a fallen one away. “You’re… as beautiful as you are endless– the universe I’m helpless in.” He whispered, and she let out a breathless laugh. “I’m- I’m an astronomer at my best, Rose, and you- you’re everything I’m looking for.” He squeezed her hands. “I’ll give you everything I have,” he vowed. “I’ll teach you everything I know… I will hold you close, but I’ll learn to let you go. With every heartbeat I have left, I will defend your every breath.” Tears were streaming down Rose’s cheeks at his promises, and she couldn’t help but lift up on her toes and kiss him. He went on when she pulled away, “because you are so loved by me, Rose. You are loved more than you know. I hereby pledge all of my days to you to prove it so– though your heart is far too young to realise the unimaginable light you hold inside.”

Rose shook her head and looked up to him in wonder at this impossible man pledging his impossible life to her. She took a deep breath. “You took my hand and whispered ‘run’ and we ran until we reached the stars. You taught me the courage of the stars, Doctor.” She reached up to place her hand against his cheek and was surprised by the moisture- realising for the first time that he was crying too. “How light carries on endlessly– even after death.” She whispered, unable to keep the sorrow from her voice even as happiness soared in her heart. “You explained the infinite to me. How rare and beautiful it is that we even exist.” She laughed and looked out into the time rift they orbited and he watched as the light of it reflected in her wet eyes. “You told me the the universe was made just to be seen by my eyes.” She said breathlessly, and then looked back up to him. “Before you, I thought I was nothing, but then you came along and suddenly…” She shrugged. “I didn’t know a lot of things before I met you, but of all the things you’ve taught me, Doctor, the most brilliant is love. Because I _didn’t_ know. I didn’t know I could love someone as I much as I love you.” She took a deep breath. “I pledge every breath I have to you, my Doctor. I’ll be next to you through every step. The whole world at our fingertips. The darkness can be rewritten, you’ll see. I promise you my everything.”

He smiled down to her as tears fell and tightened his grip on her hands before reaching up to place his fingers at her temples and nodding for her to do the same.

They stood in each other's minds, surrounded by the golden light of their timelines. _“With golden string our universe is clothed in light.”_ The Doctor said, and it took Rose a second to realise he was speaking Gallifreyan as even as the beautiful alien language filled her ears she didn’t have a problem understanding their meaning.

 _“Pulling at the seams, our once barren world fills with light.”_ She whispered, the alien lines coming to her easily, and around them the ribbons of their existence circled.

His hearts stuttered at hearing his language come from Rose’s lips. He said her name, and then bent down to his own in her ear, and kiss her reverently after she repeated it. _“We are the dust of dust,”_ He started when he pulled back, and Rose joined him on the final line, _“as infinite as the universe we hold inside.”_

At those words their timelines burst into color, spinning and twisting around each other until they couldn’t tell where one began and the other ended. The Doctor braced himself, ready to see Rose’s shorter timeline break off from his own, but they both gasped when they saw their intertwined timelines extending on _infinitely_ through time and space- further on than either of them could see.

“Doctor…” Rose started, unable to find words for the hopeful question.

“Rose you’re…” He swallowed. “You’re a Time Lord.”

Both their eyes flung open at the words and The Doctor picked Rose up by the waist, twirling her around in the light of the universe as his hearts soared and she laughed merrily. He spun them into the console room, the TARDIS shutting the doors behind them as he placed her back on her feet and kissed her deeply, letting all his love and happiness pour over the bond.

Rose gasped at the feeling and pulled back to stare up at him in wonder. “That’s… new,” she let out breathlessly, and then let her own love pour back to him before he could second guess her words– nearly knocking him off his feet with her emotions as well, and suddenly he got the phrasing. She smiled and tugged him closer at his slack-jawed expression. _‘So you don’t have to lose me then?’_ She asked hesitantly, using their new bond to say it telepathically.

He kissed her deeply again at that, already in love with the feeling of her in his mind. _“Never.’_ He told her as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her until there wasn’t any space left between them.

 _‘Looks like you’re really stuck with me forever then.’_ She said cheekily.

 _‘Oh Rose Tyler, stuck with you? That’s not so bad.’_ He said, repeating her words back at him. He grinned and finally let go at her as she laughed at that. “I am going to need to do a number of tests on you…”

Rose groaned, rolling her eyes, and followed him to where he was already pulling the monitor around. “Or…” She said, snaking her arms around his waist. “We could get started on those wedding night celebrations…” She whispered in his ear.

The Doctor swallowed at that and spun around in her grasp to see her looking up at him seductively. “Oh Rose Tyler…” He started, but then cut himself off to wrap one arm around her waist and run the other hand through her hair as he pulled her up to him in a lascivious kiss, walking her backwards towards the corridor and through their bedroom door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Large majority of the vows taken from various Sleeping At Last songs—


	3. The Missus and the Ex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "School Reunion" rewrite in which The Doctor and Rose are married.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically I just reordered the with-Mickey episodes to happen after Krop Tor.
> 
> Inspired by both Rose's "I'm not his assistant" line and Mickey's "the missus and the ex" line from the original episode. Because when I was rewatching to write from just a relationship perspective all I could think was 'but what if those lines were true' and thus this was born. 
> 
> Plus I got to use a frankly incredible line that will be cut from a later episode in Mad, Beautiful, Fantastic.

Two days they’d been at the school now. Him and Rose, pretending at being teachers. They’d only been married a few months now, and she was only just down the hall in the art classroom, but he really didn’t like having to go hours without her standing next to him.

 _‘Rooossseee, I’m_ **_bored._** _’_ He complained as he leant back in the spinny chair.

He could feel Rose’s amused grin from the other side of the bond. _‘Here’s a thought: try actually teaching them something. You’re brilliant enough. I’m sure you could find something to lecture on about. Do it to me often enough.’_ She teased him.

The Doctor looked around the empty physics lab. _‘They aren’t here yet.’_ He said, instead of pointing out how his ‘lecturing’ had gotten her near to perfectly understanding the TARDIS by this point.

 _‘Will be.'_ She told him shortly, and right on cue the bell rung and the kids began filtering through the door with polite nods and greetings of “Good Morning, Dr. Tyler.” He smiled and waved to them, and was about to say something more to Rose when he felt she was suddenly distracted by her own students.

He sighed and stood to address his class. _Physics, he could teach humans physics. Physics was easy._ He shoved his glasses on determinedly.

“So! Physics!” He exclaimed, spinning around to write the word on the dry erase board and underline it for good measure. “Physics. Eh? Physics. Physics! Physics. Physics, physics, physics, physics, physics, physics, physics.” He’d walked around to the front of the teacher’s lab table and leant heavily against it as the reality of him having no idea what he was doing really struck him. In his head he could feel Rose quite easily explaining the difference between acrylic and oil paints, and sniffed. “I hope one of you is getting all this down.” He mumbled, making fun of himself.

He started pacing and looked up to the ceiling. “Okay let's see what you know... Two identical strips of nylon are charged with static electricity and hung from a string so they can swing freely. What would happen if they were brought near each other?” He asked them- starting with the basics. A bespectacled boy towards the front of his class raised his hand. “Yes, er, what's your name?” The Doctor called on him, raising his eyebrows.

“Milo.” The boy answered, bringing his hand down.

“Milo! Off you go!” The Doctor nodded.

“They'd repel each other because they have the same charge.” He answered matter of factly.

The Doctor smirked, and nodded. “Correctamundo!" He cringed inwardly. "...A word I have never used before and hopefully never will again.” He took a deep breath. “Question two. I coil up a thin piece of microwire and place it in a glass of water. Then I turn on the electricity and measure to see if the water's temperature is affected. My question is this. How do I measure the electrical power going into the coil?”

He stopped his back and forth pacing to turn towards the class again, they all looked up to him with dead stares. Only one hand was raised. The same hand. “Someone else?” He tried, to no avail. “No? Milo, go for it.” He nodded to the boy.

“Measure the current and PDs in an ammeter and voltmeter.” Milo answered easily.

The Doctor squinted at him. Something was off. He’d flipped through their textbook the other day. He’d seen nothing about electrical power systems in the Physics I class notes. “Two to Milo. Right then, Milo, tell me this. True or false. The greater the dampening of the system, the quicker it loses energy to its surroundings.” He spoke quickly- testing him.

“False.” Milo answered, correctly, without hesitation.

“What in non-coding DNA?” He tried, leaning back and pulling his hands from his pockets to cross his arms in front of him.

“DNA that doesn’t code for a protein.”

The Doctor raised his chin. “65,983 times 5?”

“328,915.” Milo again, didn’t even hesitate, spouting off the answer as though it had just been sitting there, calculated, on the top of his head.

“How do you travel faster than light?” The Doctor asked, moving away from Earth science.

“By opening a quantum tunnel with an FTL factor of thirty six point seven recurring.” Milo easily told him of one of the the key functions of the TARDIS. The Doctor’s jaw dropped.

 _‘I think I just found out why Mickey called us.’_ The Doctor told Rose.

 

They were finally able to meet in the canteen a few hours later.

“I don’t know how students and teachers do it.” The Doctor sighed, sitting back in the chair as Rose finally joined him with her tray. “Same schedule everyday, moving on accordance to a bell- having an alloted mealtime.” He wrinkled his nose at the food in front of them. “It’s like a factory.” He sniffed. “Or a prison…”

Rose didn’t seem to be paying any attention to his complaining. “Are you eating those chips?” She asked, pointing to them with her plastic fork, but not waiting for an answer before grabbing one.

“Yeah, they’re a bit… different…” He commented, as she shoved it in her mouth.

She practically moaned around the bite, her eyes rolling back a bit. “I think they’re gorgeous.” She said, and The Doctor raised his brows.

He’s brought Rose to the pinnacle of ecstasy, but seeing her eat chips- he thought he’d always feel like he may be competing with the fried potatoes for his wife’s affections.

She slapped his arm. “I heard that.”

The Doctor smirked and cleared his throat, leaning back in his chair, and crossing his arms. “It’s very well behaved- this place.” He commented, looking around to the students. “I thought there'd be happy slapping hoodies- Happy slapping hoodies with ASBOs. Happy slapping hoodies with ASBOs and ringtones.” He grinned towards Rose as she fought back her amusement at his gob. “Eh? Eh? Oh, yeah. Don't tell me I don't fit in.” He waggled his eyebrows goofily.

Rose giggled, and he delighted in the sound of it. Was he ever not going to be completely taken by his wife? He didn’t think so.

She snapped him out of his daydreaming though. “You said there was a strange boy in your class this morning?” She prompted him, leaning forward.

“Right! Yeah! Milo. Had knowledge way beyond Earth. Told me how to travel faster than the speed of light.”

Rose tilted her head. “Quantum tunnel with an FTL factor of 36.7 recurring, yeah?”

He squinted at her. “How’d you know that?”

She rolled her eyes. “I do listen to you _sometimes,_ y’know.”

“Yeah, didn’t think you listened to the science-y bits.” He shook his head at her is mild amazement.

Rose leant forward and rested her chin in her hand, sensing the direction of his thoughts. “I’ll recite string theory for you later.” She whispered, eyes glowing suggestively.

The bell rang before he could even begin to formulate a response to that.

 

Rose had had to go straight to her next period, but he’d had a free one, and found himself in the teacher’s lounge, mug in hand, as he spoke to one of the the history teachers- Mr Parsons.

“Yesterday,” Parsons was saying as he poured milk into his tea, “I had a twelve year old girl give me the exact height of the Walls of Troy -in cubits.”

The Doctor raised his brows. “And it’s ever since the new headmaster arrived?”

Parson’s nodded. “Finch arrived three months ago. Next day, half the staff got flu. Finch replaced them with that lot,” he motioned to the black-suited tight lipped teachers on the far side of the room. “Except for the teachers you and your wife replaced, and that was just plain weird, them winning the lottery like that. They never even _played._ Posted through their door overnight.”

The Doctor nodded, adding that to the list of things he needed to do when this was all over, and silently he sipped his tea- deciding it best not to comment.

“Excuse me, colleagues- a moment of your time.” The headmaster in question had arrived in the doorframe, a very familiar face standing next to him. The Doctor eyes widened, standing up slowly, as Finch motioned to the woman. “May I introduce Miss Sarah Jane Smith.” The Doctor’s ears rang at the name. “Miss Smith is a journalist who's writing a profile about me for the Sunday Times. I thought it might be useful for her to get a view from the trenches, so to speak... Don't spare my blushes.”

The Doctor was very aware he was staring at her- grinning like an idiot. But he just couldn’t help it. He felt Rose’s questioning nudge in response to his tumultuous emotions, but before he could answer her unspoken question, Sarah Jane was walking up to him. “Hello.” She started kindly.

“Oh, I should think so.” The Doctor answered quietly, forgetting himself.

Sarah Jane squinted at that, eyes looking him up and down. “And… you are?”

“Hm?” He let out, sticking his chin out before finally realisation hit him. “Uh- oh. Right. I’m John-” He cut himself off before the ‘Smith’ he hadn’t used in so long could tumble out in front of the face that the name had been used in front of so very often. “Tyler. John Tyler.” He recovered quickly.

She smiled politely, stepping forwards and holding her hand out. “Nice to meet you.”

The Doctor grinned. “Nice to meet you. Yes, very nice. More than nice. Brilliant.” He rambled, shaking her hand back enthusiastically.

Sarah Jane seemed a little shaken by his grinning. “Er, so- er, have you worked here long?” She asked.

“No.” he answered quickly, shoving his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels. “It's only my second day.”

"Oh so you're new then!" Sarah’s demeanor immediately shifted from interrogational to friendly gossip, and she leaned in somewhat conspiratorially. "So, what do you think of the school? I mean, this new curriculum? So many children getting ill. Doesn't that strike you as odd?” She prompted him, cleverly surreptitious.

The Doctor couldn't hold back the grin anymore. “You don't sound like someone just doing a profile.” He commented.

“Well... no harm in a little investigation while I'm here.” She smirked mischievously, and raised her brows and farewell before turning towards the black suits.

“No. Good for you…” He mumbled to her retreating form. “Good for you. Oh, good for you, Sarah Jane Smith.” He smiled brightly.

 

Rose caught him in the corridor a bit later as classes were finally ending. “Hey,” she started, going up on her toes to kiss his cheek. “What was all that emotion earlier… like awe…” She shook her head and squinted up at him curiously.

“Oh, Rose Tyler,” He grinned and grabbed her round the waist, spinning her in place, and earning a surprised squeak, before finally setting her back down to her toes. “It’s brilliant!” He exclaimed.

“What is?” She asked, leaning her head forward.

He opened his mouth to begin explaining (though he didn’t know where to start), but Rose’s mobile interrupted him. She rolled her eyes and pulled it from her pocket. “It’s Mickey.” She told him, before answering. “Yeah, yeah we’ll leave in a second. No, I haven’t yet- will do. Yes, alright, Micks. Yeah, see you.” She clicked it off.

He tilted his head at her. “What haven’t you done yet?” He asked.

Rose’s former curiosity was forgotten as she remembered her own very-important-thing she needed to tell him. “Right,” she started, taking his hand and leading them down the hall towards the stairs. “I was in the canteen, yeah? Was gonna ask about those chips-”

“Course you were.” The Doctor interrupted her, amusement dripping from his words.

Rose rolled her eyes and slapped his arm. “Shut up.” She grinned up at him though, and he looked down to her with a similar look.

He couldn’t remember ever being this happy before- not before Rose. _She was just… so… everything._ A blush stained her cheeks as she caught that thought, but she continued on. “Anyway, as I was saying. I was in the canteen, yeah. And when I wandered back into the kitchens, the dinner ladies were moving a barrel of oil- being real careful about it too. Covered head to toe in protective gear, walking real slow like.”

She paused and The Doctor tilted his head. “With the oil? Cold oil?” He asked, and held open the front doors of the school for her.

Rose nodded. “Yeah, but then the barrel toppled over and some of the oil came out- splashed on to one of them. She started screaming like she’d been cut open.”

The Doctor squinted towards where the sun was just beginning to set. “And then what?”

Rose shrugged. “I don’t know. They ran into the back office and closed all the blinds. There was a lot of noise and more screaming. Was gonna call an ambulance but one of them came out and told me not to- said everything was okay.”

He hummed at that and unlocked the TARDIS door, throwing his coat over the coral strut as he ran up the ramp towards the console, Rose close to his heels. She pulled the brakes off, as he brought the monitor around to start typing in coordinates. “Oh wait, let me!” Rose stopped his hand before he could even bring up the screen. “I’ve been brushing up on my Gallifreyan and I know the way to mum’s.”

He squinted at her. “We’re not going to your mum’s.”

Rose raised her eyebrows. “Yeah we are.”

“But- but we need to pick up Mickey.”

Rose folded her arms over her chest and leaned a hip against the console. “And he lives in the the next building over.”

“But-” He started to protest again.

Rose interrupted him. “And we need to wait til nightfall to get back to the school anyway- which isn’t for another four hours at the least.”

“It’s a time machine.” He argued fairly, but Rose new his real intentions.

“Doctor we’ve already told her we’re married.” She said, shaking her head. “You’ve already been slapped for it. She’s not going to again.”

He nodded, sucking his teeth as he rocked back on his heels. “Yeah, and now she just keeps nattering on about grandchildren and not bringing you round often enough. Which is just ridiculous, mind, because if you really wanted to visit her you could very well pilot the TARDIS yourself-”

He cut himself off as in the middle of his ramble Rose had pulled the monitor towards herself, and began typing in the TS coordinates in perfect Gallifreyan. “Yep, you’re right, I can.” She said, smirking as she adjusted a few dials, and pulled the dematerialisation lever before he could protest further about seeing his mother-in-law.

She landed her perfectly in the sitting room between the sofa and the telly, and grinned brilliantly up towards her husband when she saw her handiwork on the monitors. “I’m a better driver!” She sung, already skipping down the ramp.

“No, no! She just likes you more!” The Doctor called after her, but if Rose heard him she didn’t feel the need to dignify it with a response as she flung open the TARDIS doors.

“You’re here!” Jackie exclaimed, pulling her daughter into a hug as The Doctor shut the ship’s doors behind him. “Mickey said you were but then when you didn’t stop by-”

Rose laughed. “Yeah, it’s only our second day. Were a bit busy yesterday getting into the school and all. The teachers-”

“Oh, I don’t care about the bloody school.” Jackie interrupted her with a wave of her hand. She pulled Rose around to the dining table. “Tell me what you’ve been doing! How long has it been? Has himself been treating you well?” She asked her conspiratorially- as if he wasn’t standing right behind them.

The Doctor scoffed, rolling his eyes as he walked past them and into the kitchen to pop the kettle on (his assigned duty for when visiting the Tyler residence). He listened as Rose reassured her mom that she was, in fact, happy, and she wasn’t, in fact, being held against her will.

Then, because she’s Jackie Tyler, and although they would eventually be able to have a decent conversation, she had to hit all her bases first. “What about grandchildren though, Rose? Can himself even give you kids? Alien as he is-” She asked for what was likely the millionth time in the last few months that they’d been married.

“ _Te`gejise!_ ” The Doctor called from the kitchen to his wife, speaking in Gallifreyan despite his the ability to say it in her head- mostly just for the joy of peeving Jackie.

Rose rolled her eyes at his ‘I told you so.’ “ _Hesutecalla!_ ” She called back the ‘shut up’ easily, grinning at the warmth that always came through the bond from his end whenever she spoke Gallifreyan- no matter what she was saying to him.

Jackie huffed angrily, and The Doctor smiled to himself at the sound- counting it as a small win. “See!” She shrieked.

Rose shook her head. “Mum, I’m barely even twenty-three-” she started.

Jackie pointed behind her to the kitchen. “And he’s, what, a thousand-”

“Eight hundred!” The Doctor corrected her, pouring water over the tea bags.

She, predictably, ignored him. “How much longer could he-”

The Doctor choked on his own air, and cut her off again before she could finish that question. “Forever!” he yelled, ignoring Rose’s amused snickers from the other room.

“Yeah, well, I won’t be around forever will I?” Jackie threw back, crossing her arms in front of her.

Rose immediately sobered at that. “Oh, Mum, don’t say that.” She said, just as The Doctor was coming round the corner with their mugs in hand.

“It’s true though, isn’t it?” Jackie persisted. “With you not aging, you’re gonna forget about your old mum-”

“Mum,” Rose cut her off. “Don’t say that.” She repeated firmly. “That’s not going to happen.”

The Doctor cleared his throat and leant forward. “Why do you think we’ve been coming round every Sunday since we found out Rose had an extended timeline, Jackie? Making it longer for us than it is you- you see Rose more often, and she sees you for longer.” He explained.

Both Jackie’s and Rose’s eyes widened at that- neither one of them having put that together yet. Rose smiled brightly over to her mother’s gobsmacked expression. “Oh my god, you do her love her.” She mumbled- well aware of how annoyed the Time Lord got with her.

The Doctor rolled his eyes in exasperation and leaned back in the chair. “Now she gets it.” He said dryly, but smirked over to Rose as she giggled.

Rose reached out for her mother’s hand. “Can we talk about something else now, please? We haven’t even been married a year yet.” She implored her.

Jackie sighed, but relented, her eyes brightening up again as she was reminded of the latest gossip. “Have I told you Bev…”

And so The Doctor sat for the next few hours, silently listening to his wife and mother-in-law chat away, only occasionally speaking up whenever Rose needed reminding of the name of some particular alien thing they’d seen recently, or wanted his input on some theory she’d concocted about same alien race or another. And, even though he would never in a million years admit it, he secretly enjoyed the domesticity of it.

 

Mickey turned up eventually, file in hand, and plopped in down on the table as he took the seat between Rose and Jackie. “That’s everything I’d managed to get with those codes you sent me.” He said, nodding to The Doctor as he picked up the papers. “Got into the army files. Three months ago, massive UFO activity. Logged over forty sightings. Lights in the sky, all of that.” He surmised the contents of his findings. “Couldn’t get any photos though. Gets all classified and secret then. Some agency called Torchwood keeps locking me out.”

Something nudged at the back of Rose’s head at the name, but she shrugged it off easily. “Three months ago… that’s when the maths teachers and dinner ladies were replaced.” She said.

The Doctor nodded, and glanced out the nearby window to see that night had fallen. “Looks like it’s time we head back to school.” He said, standing up.

As they entered the TARDIS and began dematerialising, Rose wrinkled her nose down at the floral dress and heels she was still wearing for her day as an art teacher. “Yeah, this is no good.” She mumbled, and flipped a switch as she walked past the console- The Doctor making an indignant noise as their progress through the vortex was halted. “Let me go change!” She called over her shoulder, disappearing round the corner on her way to their bedroom.

Mickey sat down on the jump seat and looked up at The Doctor. “Every time I see her she gets more and more like you.”

The Doctor raised his brows at that- getting that he'd meant it as a bad thing. He folded his arms and leant against the console. “And I get more and more like her. It’s called marriage, Mickey.” He threw back easily.

Mickey didn’t respond to that. Just gave the Time Lord a significant look before turning his head to watch the spot where Rose had disappeared while The Doctor spun back around to the console.

Rose reappeared a few horrifically-quiet moments later, dressed comfortably in jeans and her blue hoodie- and a pair of red chucks to match The Doctor’s white ones. He smirked at the sight, and flipped back the switch without warning to Mickey- who fell off the jump seat with a yelp when their lurch back through the vortex took him by surprise. The Doctor had to bite back his laugh as his wife glared at him, chastising him for his rudeness.

 

After landing in the school's storage area, Rose let out a long breath as they stepped through the silent halls. “Oh, it's weird seeing school at night. It just feels wrong.” She laughed at herself and turned towards The Doctor as they came to a stop. “When I was a kid, I used to think all the teachers slept in school.” She told him.

He smirked at that, momentarily distracted by how adorable his little pink-and-yellow, (not quite) human was, before clearing his throat and turning to the both of them. “All right, team- Oh, I hate people who say team. Um, gang- er, comrades…” He caught Rose’s amused thoughts and sniffed before abandoning the conquest. “Anyway, Rose, go to the kitchen. Get a sample of that oil. Mickey, go and check out the Maths department. I'm going to look in Finch's office. Be back here in ten minutes.” He told them.

Rose smirked and gave him a little mock salute he rolled his eyes at before kissing her quickly and walking away in the direction of the headmaster’s office.

He only made it halfway down the corridor though when he stopped.

Sarah Jane was attempting to pick the lock of the door labeled “Headmaster.” Then a loud screech sounded overhead and she was running- running in the direction of the storage room they’d parked the TARDIS in. He silently chased after her, pausing as she disappeared behind the door that housed the ship.

He heard her gasp.

She backed out, chest heaving.

“Hello, Sarah Jane.” He said solemnly, keeping his hands in his pockets as she spun around.

“It’s you.” She breathed. “It’s you isn’t it? Oh my God, Doctor- it’s you! You’ve regenerated!”

“Yeah. Oh..." he tilted his head as he counted backwards, "half a dozen times since we last met.”

“You look incredible.” She sputtered.

He grinned. “So do you.”

She scoffed at at that, shaking her head. “I got old.” She countered, but went on before he could protest. “What are you doing here?”

He rocked back on his heels and bit back the flippant ‘my wife got a call from her ex boyfriend’ response that immediately came to his lips. “Well, UFO sighting, school gets record results.” He shrugged with a slight smirk.  “I couldn't resist... What about you?”

“The same.” She laughed incredulously, but sobered at the grin he gave her- the accusations she’d been holding back for son long coming to the surface. She shook her head in righteous anger. “I thought you'd died! I waited for you and you didn't come back, and I thought you must have died!”

His smile fell. “I lived. Everyone else died.” He answered vaguely, solemnly.

Sarah Jane shook her head in confusion. “What do you mean?” She asked.

“Everyone died, Sarah.” He repeated.

She pressed her lips together and closed her eyes. It didn’t make sense still, but it was starting to- and she didn’t want to think of it. “I can't believe it's you.” She breathed again instead.

Right on cue through, a terrified scream rang through the corridor. She let out another startled disbelieving laugh. “Okay, now I can!” She exclaimed, and they both ran.

They ran right into a blonde. “Did you hear that?” She asked The Doctor before turning to Sarah Jane. “Who’s this?” She asked, and she had a kind smile.

“Rose, Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane, this is Rose.” The Doctor introduced them quickly, and Sarah didn’t like the way the other woman’s name rolled off his tongue- like it was a song.

Rose smiled and held her hand out. “Hi. Nice to meet you.” She greeted her warmly.

Sarah Jane was embittered by years of unrequited love and abandonment though, and she ignored the outstretched hand of the younger girl before her. “You can tell you’re getting older.” She threw to The Doctor. “Your assistants are getting younger.”

Rose’s entire demeanor immediately changed at that. She dropped her hand, squaring her shoulders, she pulled her chin back and looked down to Sarah- eyes glowing golden a bit. “I’m not his assistant.” She bit out. “I’m-”

Sarah Jane cut her off though. “No?” She asked condescendingly- like she didn’t believe her. She looked back up to the The Doctor. “Get you, tiger.” She said sarcastically, before walking quickly in the direction of the scream.

Rose shot her husband a look as she walked off. _‘What the hell was that about?’_ She demanded.

He shook his head, eyes wide. _‘I honestly have no idea.’_ He told her, and then grabbed her hand for good measure as they followed Sarah Jane down the corridor.

“Sorry! Sorry, it was only me.” Mickey was saying as they entered the maths lab. “You told me to investigate, so I started looking through some of these cupboards and all of these fell on me.”

Rose let go of The Doctor’s hand and knelt down to the things scattering the floor. She sucked in a breath as she realised what they were. “Oh, my God, they're rats. Dozens of rats. Vacuum packed rats.” She announced, her disgust apparent.

The Doctor shoved his hands in his pockets again and turned to Mickey. “And you decided to scream.” He deadpanned.

“It took me by surprise!” Mickey protested indignantly.

The Doctor, however, was not going to give up on this perfect opportunity to hassle Rose’s ex boyfriend. “Like a little girl?” He mocked.

Mickey huffed. “It was dark! I was covered in rats!”

The Time Lord tilted his head, biting back a smirk. “Nine, maybe ten years old. I'm seeing pigtails, frilly skirt.” He went on.

Rose interrupted their back and forth before Mickey could perpetuate it. “Hello, can we focus? Does anyone notice anything strange about this? Rats in school?”

Sarah Jane had gone silent once she’d finally seen the ring adorning Rose’s left hand when she’d reached out to examine the rats. Her breath caught in her throat, looking hopefully over to Mickey but finding his fingers bare. The Doctor’s hands were still firmly in his pockets (a habit of this regeneration she’d already noticed and was already finding annoying), but she had a sinking feeling that she’d find a matching band on his left hand. The horrible truth sat like a stone in her stomach.

So she couldn’t contain her condescending tone as she snapped at Rose. “Well, obviously they use them in Biology lessons. They dissect them. Or maybe you haven't reached that bit yet. How old are you?”

Rose squinted at her, crossing her arms as she pulled her chin back. “Excuse me, no one dissects rats in school anymore. They haven't done that for years. Where are you from, the dark ages?” She snapped back.

The Doctor watched this short back and forth with wide eyes- ignoring the amused look Mickey was giving him as he picked up on the situation. He sniffed loudly. “Anyway!” He deflected. “Moving on. Everything started when Mister Finch arrived. We should go and check his office.” He held his left (ringed) hand out to Rose as a peace offering, but she huffed in annoyance and shoved past him- Sarah Jane following suit as the sight of the ring tightened her chest.

The two women marched side by side down the corridor as the men followed. The air around them practically growling at each other.

“I don’t mean to be rude or anything,” Rose started, and The Doctor winced while Mickey smirked- both of them knowing full well what Rose beginning a sentence like that meant. “But who exactly are you?” Rose had, of course, by this point worked out exactly who she was by The Doctor’s thoughts, but she enjoyed the upper hand this conversation thread would give her. The Doctor sighed as he caught that thought.

“Sarah Jane Smith. I used to travel with The Doctor” Sarah answered readily, smirking a bit, thinking she knew more- as she had no idea what Rose was about to say.

“Oh, well, he’s never mentioned you.” Rose told her, singing the words almost. The Doctor winced again. He was in so much trouble. Not only from Sarah Jane, he could feel his wife’s anger rolling off of her in waves towards him.

He didn’t try arguing for Sarah’s sake. There wasn’t any point. It would only prove to piss Rose off more of he tried to lie.

“What? Not even once?” She sputtered. “He didn’t mention me even once?” She stopped as that hit her, and Rose smirked, walking past her easily.

Mickey and The Doctor held back for a second as Sarah Jane caught up to Rose again. “Ho, ho, mate.” Mickey started, smiling brightly as it was his turn to peeve The Doctor. “The missus and the ex- welcome to every man’s worst nightmare.” He said brightly, patting him on the chest and following the girls.

The Doctor breathed deeply before moving his feet again. When he turned the corner they were all waiting impatiently for him to use the sonic.

“Maybe those rats were food…” He said, attempting to change focus back to the _actual_ problem at hand.

It worked on Rose at least, as she was able to follow his train of thought, and could see the potential endgames. “Food for what?” She mumbled, as the lock clicked open and he turned the handle.

Her question was, of course, immediately answered with a visual. From the ceiling, thirtteen massive red-coloured bats hung from the ceiling of the headmaster’s office.

The Doctor let out a long breath. “You know how you used to think all the teachers slept in school?” He tilted his head, sucking his teeth. “Well, they do.”

“No way!” Mickey shook his head vehemently, then turned on his heel without further preamble- running back towards the school’s front doors.

Rose, The Doctor, and Sarah Jane followed after him more calmly- used to the alien as they were. And in the school yard Mickey and The Doctor immediately started arguing.

“I’m not going back in there! No way!” Mickey yelled.

The Doctor rolled his eyes at the dramatics. “When Finch arrived, he brought with him seven new teachers, four dinner ladies and a nurse. Thirteen. Thirteen big bat people. Come on.” He said, opening the door again

“Come on?” Mickey repeated incredulously. “You’ve got to be kidding!”

“We need the TARDIS.” The Doctor persisted. “We need to analyse that oil from the kitchens.”

Sarah Jane didn’t miss the way he used ‘we’ in reference to him and Rose in the way he never had for her. She bit back her envy and steeled herself. “I might be able to help you there.” She offered, and tilted her head towards the car park. “I’ve got something to show you.” She said, with a small smirk, and started walking off.

They caught up to her just as she was opening the boot of her car. She pulled the sheet off covering the heap that was-

“K9!” The Doctor exclaimed merrily, grinning like a child as he stepped forward, pulling his hands out his pockets to examine the robot dog. “Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith, allow me to introduce K9. Well, K9 Mark Three to be precise.” He rambled introductions.

Rose squinted at the dog. “Why’s he look so... _disco?_ ”

“Oi!” The Doctor straightened up. “Listen, in the year five thousand, this was cutting edge.” He looked over to his wife to see her raise her eyebrows at him challengingly- he’d forgotten that he, himself, was in the metaphorical doghouse. He swallowed and turned to Sarah Jane “What's happened to him?” He asked her.

Sarah shook her head. “One day he just…” She shrugged helplessly, “nothing.”

“Well didn’t you try to get him repaired?” The Doctor threw back, a little accusingly.

Sarah Jane crossed her arms. “Well, it's not like getting parts for a Mini Metro. Besides, the technology inside him could rewrite human science. I couldn't show him to anyone!” She protested.

The Doctor ignored that logic and scratched behind the tin dog’s ears. “Oh, what’s the nasty lady done to you?” He asked him in a that voice humans used when they spoke to their pets, and immediately felt Rose fail to conceal her amusement. He grinned cheekily over his shoulder to her- as adorably as he could.

Sarah Jane huffed in annoyance. “Come on, get in the car.” She told them, shutting the boot on K9.

The Doctor pushed Mickey towards the front seat with Sarah before he could could get in the back with Rose. Rose rolled her eyes when he slid in next to her. _‘We’ll talk about it later.’_ She told him silently, and he nodded in agreement, talking her hand in his and running his thumb over the ring there as a not-so-subtle reminder of what she meant to him.

Sarah Jane caught the motion in the rear view mirror, and resolutely ignored it as she pulled out of the car park.

 

 _Love Will Tear Us Apart_ by Joy Division was playing over the static filled speakers of the small cafe Sarah Jane had taken them to. The Doctor and her were at a table looking at K9’s circuit boards while Rose and Mickey stood at the counter waiting on their orders.

“You see,” Mickey started, immediately making her roll her eyes before he’d even said it. “What's impressive is that it's been nearly an hour since we met her and I still haven't said I told you so.”

Rose huffed. “I'm not listening to this.”

Mickey persisted though. “Although, I have prepared a little I was right dance that I can show you later.” He grinned brightly as Rose paid the two quid for her chips and he was handed his cappuccino. “All this time you've been giving it, he's different, when the truth is, he's just like any other bloke.”

Rose sat down at the table furthest away from her husband and his old friend. “You don't know what you're talking about.” She grumbled- and it was true. Sure, she was cross with him for not telling her about Sarah earlier, but she could also feel him in her head. She wasn’t threatened, she knew there was nothing to be threatened of. She was just… a little hurt and confused… and airing on the side of insecure.

Mickey shrugged. He knew they were telepathic. He could accept that he didn’t have the full story. “Maybe not.” He gave her, but then, because they’d been best friends since they were three years old- he couldn’t help teasing her. “But if I were you I'd go easy on the chips.”

She glared at him and shoved another chip in her mouth.

Sarah Jane looked over to The Doctor as he put the sonic is his mouth while adjusting the wires inside of K9. “I thought of you on Christmas Day a few years past now.” She told him. “Great big spaceship overhead, I thought ‘Oh yeah, bet he’s up there.’”

The Doctor smirked as he sonicked another circuit closed. “Right on top of it, yeah.”

“And Rose?” Sarah asked quietly.

He smiled distractedly. “She was there too.”

She bit the inside of her cheek. “You’re married.” She said, and it wasn’t a question. She eyed the ring on his finger- matching the one she’d spotted on Rose’s.

He took a long breath through his nose. “Yeah- yep, I am.” He answered, determindley not looking at her.

“How- since when have you-” She cut herself off and shook her head. She didn’t really want to know. “Did I do something wrong?” She asked instead. “Because you never came back for me- you just dumped me.”

The Doctor didn’t miss the phrasing, but he ignored it. “I told you. I was called back home and in those days humans weren't allowed.” He said the half-truth instead of the whole.

Sarah Jane didn’t back down though. “I waited for you.” She told him. “I missed you.”

He shook his head. “Oh, you didn’t need me.” He said, and it sounded like he was convincing himself of it. “You were getting on with your life.”

“You were my life.” She threw back, effectively breaking his hearts. She let out a long breath. “You know what the most difficult thing was? Coping with what happens next, or with what doesn't happen next. You took me to the furthest reaches of the galaxy, you showed me supernovas, intergalactic battles, and then you just dropped me back on Earth. How could anything compare to that?”

He squinted at her. “All those things you saw- you want me to apologise for that?” He asked her incredulously.

“No.” She snapped. “But- all that, and then you just drop me off. Like we shared a cab. You could have come back.”

The Doctor shook his head. “I couldn’t have.”

“Why not?” She asked, and it sounded like begging. It’s the one question she’d been asking herself for so long.

And if it wasn’t for Rose- if it wasn’t for all those human emotions she had running through his head and inspired through is hearts- he probably wouldn’t have answered her. But he did have Rose, and he could understand the pain of _not knowing._ “Because what’s the alternative, Sarah?” He looked up to her seriously. “Me standing over your grave?”

She opened and closed her mouth a few times at that, and finally The Doctor saw dawning comprehension. He sighed and went back to work on K9. Sarah looked up to Rose, suddenly more worried for the girl than she was envious, but she decided not to say it out loud- not then anyway. She smirked instead, attempting to lighten the mood. “It wasn’t Croydon.” She told him, and watched as he looked up, brow furrowed. “Where you dropped me off.” She clarified, shaking her head. “It wasn’t Croydon.”

He pulled his chin back. “Where was it?”

“Aberdeen.”

He looked up. “Right…” His eyes flickered before landing on hers again. “That’s next to Croydon isn’t it?”

Sarah Jane huffed out a lugh, closing her eyes and shaking her head at the ridiculous alien that used to be her best friend. He flipped a switch and with a loud whirr K9 came back to life. They both gasped and stood up excitedly. “Oh, hey, now we’re in business!” The Doctor exclaimed, he turned around to hold his hand out to his wife. “Rose, do you still have that oil?”

Her and Mickey stood to join them, Rose handing The Doctor the small vat. “I wouldn’t touch it though.” She warned him. “That dinner lady got all scorched.”

He smirked. “I’m no dinner lady.” He said, and then heard himself a second later and wrinkled his nose. “And I don’t often say that.” He added, sticking his finger in the oil and smearing it onto K9’s probe. “Here we go, come on boy, here we go.”

K9 stuttered over his words, years of disrepair now caught up to him. “Oil. Ex ex ex extract. Ana ana analysing.”

Mickey snorted. “Listen to him, man- now that’s a voice.” He laughed.

Sarah Jane and The Doctor both glared at him though. “Careful,” Sarah admonished. “That’s my dog.”

Rose bit back her amused smirk as that, and ignored the knowing look her husband was giving her for it.

After a series of loud beeps K9 spoke up again. “Confirmation of analysis. Substance is Krillitane Oil.” He told them, ears and tail rotating about robotically.

The Doctor sucked in a breath at that. “They’re Krillitanes.” He repeated, eyes wide as his thoughts raced.

“That’s bad.” Rose said, reading his thoughts.

“Very.” The Doctor nodded. “Think of how bad things could possibly be, and add another suitcase full of bad.” It sounded a bit dramatic to Rose, but he looked at them all seriously.

“And what are Krillitanes?” Sarah Jane asked.

“They're a composite race.” He explained. “Just like your culture is a mixture of traditions from all sorts of countries- people you've invaded, or have been invaded by. You've got bits of Viking, bits of France, bits of whatever. The Krillitanes are the same. An amalgam of the races they've conquered. But they take physical aspects as well. They cherry pick the best bits from the people they destroy. That's why I didn't recognise them. The last time I saw Krillitanes, they looked just like us except they had really long necks.” He was speaking ninety miles an hour but they got the gist of it.

Rose shook her head. “What are they doing here?” She asked out loud the question flitting through his head- if only for the sake of the people standing next to them.

He ran a hand through his hair, eyes flitting back and forth. “It’s the children.” He finally said stoically. “They’re doing something to the children.”

Sarah Jane’s eyes widened. “Come on, Mickey.” She said, pulling K9 towards her. “Help me get my dog back in the car.” She ordered, and he nodded, helping her lift the heavy metal dog off the table and out of the coffee shop- leaving Rose and The Doctor behind.

When they got him back in the boot, Mickey finally asked. “So what’s with the tin dog, then?”

Sarah smirked and sat back against her car. “The Doctor likes travelling with an entourage. Sometimes they're humans, sometimes they're aliens, and sometimes they’re tin dogs.” She said simply. “What about you? Where do you fit in the picture?”

“Me? I'm their Man in Havana. I'm the technical support. I'm-” Dawning realisation crossed his features. “Oh, my God. I'm the tin dog.” He sat down heavily next to her, and Sarah laughed.

Rose pulled The Doctor aside as they stepped out of the cafe. She could see Sarah Jane and Mickey sitting against her car, and figured they could wait a bit longer. “Is that what would have happened?” She asked him before he could question her timing. She nodded towards Sarah Jane. “If I hadn’t looked into the vortex? Would you have just dropped me off at the Powell Estate and forgot about me?”

“No.” He answered quickly, shaking his head vehemently. “Not you. Never you.”

Rose merely raised her eyebrows though. “You already did though, once- at the Game Station. You just… threw me out. Like I was-”

He didn’t let her finish that thought. “I thought I was saving you!” He protested.

Rose shook her head, closing her eyes against the onslaught of emotions. “You thought you were saving her too.” She threw back, raising her hand towards Sarah Jane. “And look at her…” She took a deep breath. “And I would have been worse off-” She started.

The Doctor interrupted her again. “You wouldn’t have.” He said firmly.

She ignored that. “And you wouldn’t have come back. Even if you had lived. I would have woken up one day to see the TARDIS missing and I never would have seen you again.”

He shook his head quickly again. “No, Rose. I wouldn’t have lived without you, but I would have come back if I could’ve. I would. I’d can’t live without you- I can’t-”

She wasn’t interested in hearing all that though. “And Sarah Jane?” She interrupted his declarations. “What about her? You were that close to her once.”

“No, I wasn’t.” He said seriously. “I wasn’t. You- Rose, you’re different. I’ve never thought about anyone the way I think about you.” She opened her mouth to protest, but he spoke quickly over her. “No, even before Bad Wolf- before the Game Station.” He corrected her assumption. He swallowed, of all the reasons he thought Rose was going to yell at him- he really hadn’t thought it be this, just… just what-ifs. “I’ve been in love with you since ‘Run.’” He whispered, stepping forward to take her hands in his.

Rose sucked in a breath at that, eyes searching his for a lie that wasn’t there. “What if-” she started again quietly.

“Stop.” He interrupted her firmly. “Okay? Please. You’re right. I should have mentioned Sarah Jane before- I should have mentioned everyone I’ve ever travelled with before. It just… it hurts Rose.” He took a deep breath and reached up to tuck a stray hair behind her ear. “Before you, I figured I would just always be alone. Until we were married, I thought-” The Doctor sighed, shaking his head. “It’s the curse of the Time Lords.” He told her, and it was partly a warning.

Before Rose could form a response to that a screeching went up behind them. They both spun around to see one of the bat creatures, a Krillitane, swooping down at them- teeth bared and claws extended towards their throats.

They pushed each other down to the pavement just in time, the Krillitane missing them by less than inch before flying off into the night without further attempt.

“Why’d it do that?” Rose breathed, as they stood back up and Mickey and Sarah Jane came running towards them. The Doctor only shook his head in answer. She looked over to him. “We still need to go back to the school.”

“What?” Mickey barked incredulously. “Are you mad?”

“We can’t just leave the TARDIS there.” She argued fairly, crossing her arms. “Besides, how are we gonna get back home?”

“I could take you.” Sarah Jane offered, but Rose immediately stiffened.

She glanced over to the woman’s nice car and considered her university degree in journalism. She thought of her own tiny flat on the estate on the other side of London. “No.” She answered automatically, ignoring the furrowed brow her husband was giving her. Both Mickey and Sarah Jane opened their mouths to protest, but she beat them to it. “My mum’s more than an hour from here.” She pointed out, looking down to her watch. “By the time we drove there we’d have to turn around and come right back.”

Sarah let out a long breath, knowing she was going to regret this as soon as she said it, but she did anyway. “You could stay with me. I’m not far.”

Rose’s automatic ‘no’ got stuck in her throat as The Doctor nudged her telepathically. There really wasn’t any other options. They didn’t need to sleep- Rose hardly slept any more than The Doctor now. But Mickey was clearly knackered, and they still needed to work on K9 some more before they went running into the school again. Rose sighed, and acquiesced. The Doctor grinned up to Sarah Jane as their silent reasoning concluded. “Thank you,” he said, nodding, and Sarah Jane let out a long breath before leading them back to her car.

 

Back in her flat, Sarah Jane stood in the door jam between her kitchen and her sitting room, watching The Doctor and Rose and they had their heads bent together over K9. Him asking her questions over what to do next, her answering most of them easily, occasionally taking the sonic from him to do it herself as he grinned in amusement. She could have sworn too that she heard them speaking Gallifreyan every now and again too. _She was right,_ Sarah thought- when Rose had said she wasn’t his assistant- she didn’t just mean she was his wife. Nothing made that more clear than watching them work. They were _partners-_ a team, equals. In the way The Doctor had never been for her.

Seeing them like this, after The Doctor’s comment about graves- it made her worry for them even more.

Rose looked up to see Sarah Jane watching them sadly, and she finally thought she understood. She sighed and stood. _‘I’m gonna go talk to her.’_ She told The Doctor.

He looked up and squinted between the two of them as Sarah Jane walked into the sitting room. _‘Be nice.’_ He implored her, and Rose rolled her eyes before grabbing her mug and following the other woman out.

She sat down next to Sarah on the sofa, but stayed silent, letting her be the one to speak first.

“Rose…” She started eventually, keeping her eyes on her tea. “Can I give you a bit of advice?”

Rose smirked and tucked her feet under herself. “I’ve got a feeling you’re about to.”

Sarah Jane sighed. If it wasn’t for the ring on the other woman’s finger, she would have said she knew what a relationship with The Doctor was like- but it was obvious just from seeing the two of them interact that she didn’t have a clue. She looked up to her finally. “I’m just… worried is all.” She finally settled on.

Rose raised her eyebrows at that. Whatever she was expecting- it hadn’t been worry.

Sarah shook her head. “It’s just… I never expected him to allow it to go this far. He’s -understandably- always been so caught up in the fragility of humans-”

“I’m not.” Rose cut her off, realising where this was going.

She stumbled over the interruption and stared at Rose. “What?” She asked.

“Human.” Rose clarified. “I’m not human.” The words still felt foreign to her. It had only been a few weeks since they’d realised just how _not human_ she really was. She was mostly Time Lord now, Human Time Lord as opposed to Gallifreyan, but it was still a hard concept for her to wrap her head around. Much more complicated than string theory.

“You’re a Time Lord.” Sarah Jane breathed, like it suddenly all made sense to her.

Rose shook her head though. “No, not- I mean.” She took a deep breath in an attempt to straighten her thoughts out. “I was born human, here on Earth- London, 20th century.” She explained. “A few years ago there was… a situation- with the time vortex. Accidentally changed my DNA around.”

Sarah sat back heavily as she took that in. “So you can regenerate?” She asked, staring at the girl incredulously.

Rose shrugged. “Maybe. We don’t know. I’m still half human- or part human. My timeline is extended, at least. I don’t age. The Doctor reckons I might be able to heal myself, even if I couldn’t change my face.”

The former companion shook her head in disbelief at The Doctor’s perfect wife. “Did he wish really really hard?” She asked breathlessly, making Rose laugh.

 

After that, the next day went… well, about as well as one can expect a day of soiling alien plans to crack the code of the universe using the minds of school children hopped up on intelligence-enhancing chip grease can go.

… Pretty well.

They stood in the TARDIS afterwards, a new and improved K9 sitting next to Sarah Jane as they all said their goodbyes. She pulled Rose into a hug. “You’re more than a match for him- half Time Lord or otherwise.” She whispered, knowing full well that standing next to The Doctor could be… less than self assuring. She could hardly imagine being married to him.

Rose smiled and hugged her back. “Thank you.” She replied, and meaning it. She pulled back to look in in the eyes. “And you have my number, if you ever need us, for anything, just call. But we’ll be around.”

Sarah Jane shook her head. “Y’know, if it wasn’t for him being married to you I don’t think I would have believed that.” She mused, and then smiled again, pulling Rose in for another short hug.

“Or you could just come with us.” The Doctor offered, reading his wife’s thoughts- she missed having friends. As much as Rose loved him and their life, she was lonely sometimes with only him to talk to. And that wasn’t something he wished to pass on to her. They could take companions. Sure. Why not?

Rose grinned and looked to Sarah Jane hopefully, but the older woman shook her head. “No…” She breathed, not believing herself as she said it, but knowing it was the right choice. “I can't do this anymore…” She waved her hand around vaguely and sighed longingly, but took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. “Besides, I've got a much bigger adventure ahead. Time I stopped waiting for you and found a life of my own.” She joked.

Mickey stepped forward at that. “Can I come?” He asked them, looking from Rose to The Doctor.

Rose raised her eyebrows in surprise. “You’d want to come?” She asked incredulously, remembering the few times he’d been dragged along on their adventures and how much he hated it every time. “You hate travelling… and danger.” She shook her head. “Why now?”

“Because I’m not the tin dog.” He said firmly, and at Rose’s perplexed look he went on. “And I want to see what’s out there.” He added.

Rose and The Doctor looked to each other as they had a silent conversation. Maybe if they hadn’t been married- if Mickey was still holding out hope for her, it would be different, but without those things… it made sense. Rose wanted a friend, and Mickey had been her best friend since year one.

“Oh, go on, Doctor.” Sarah Jane piped up, not recognising their telepathy and taking the long silence for what it seemed like on the surface- hesitation. “You need a Smith on board.” She teased.

The Doctor smirked and shrugged in Mickey’s direction, nodding. “Okay then, I could do with a laugh.” He said by way of confirmation- ensuring Mickey knew exactly what he was signing up for being around The Doctor everyday.

Mickey turned to Rose with a questioning look she rolled her eyes at. “Course you can come.” She laughed. “Come on, I’ll show you around.” She said, taking him by the arm and dragging him down the corridor- leaving The Doctor and Sarah Jane to say their goodbyes in private.

“How is this box _even bigger?!_ ” Mickey yelled down the echoing hallway and Rose laughed as the TARDIS chimed overhead.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoping to get Chapter 18 of MBF up soon but eh- I'm _super_ unmotivated at this point... Just sort of bummed by the lack of traction. Which, I know isn't everything and I'm just whining, but hey- I know where my story is going. Why should I waste my time posting it if no one really cares?
> 
> That being said though I'm definitely going to keep posting... I won't abandon it. Don't worry. I just can't guarantee it will be as often. Heck, there are other rewrites that don't post half as often as I do that are doing better! And they blatantly steal from me! So there again- why bother? I'm currently attempting to memorize every bone in the body and every one of their structures on top of working two jobs. I can't keep sacrificing my mental health and wellbeing for a near complete lack of enthusiasm. It seemed worth it at first, it was my escape, but... yeah, anyway. Hopefully Chapter 18 will be out this weekend. 
> 
>  
> 
> **Thank you to everyone who has been commenting- you guys are my rocks, and this post was not directed at you. Don't think for a moment that I don't appreciate the heck out of you.**
> 
>    
> I'm just... struggling at the moment.


	4. Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She promised him forever.
> 
> -Runaway Bride Rewrite-

The Doctor screamed as Rose fell into the void. The barrier sealed behind her and he collapsed onto the floor with a broken sob. His vision swam and his ears rang like he’d been in a nuclear explosion. Pain from the severed bond radiated throughout his entire body, making his lungs constrict and the air hard to breathe.

He stumbled towards the wall and pressed himself against it, tears streaming down his face. The bond reached for Rose’s familiar frequency and found nothing. He fell to the floor again, his body convulsing with cries for his wife.

Hours passed before he was able to move again. The Doctor walked blindly towards the TARDIS, staggering up the ramp and falling once more to the ground. He pulled his knees up to his chest and his head fell back against the jump seat behind him.

It was empty now. Everything was empty.

He moved to their room eventually, but everything in there was a reminder of her. He sobbed again and fell onto her side of their bed, clutching her pillow to his chest and breathing in the scent, soaking it with his tears.

He must have been there for ages, quietly crying as both the physical and emotional pain refused to subside for even a second. 

Eventually the TARDIS nudged him softly, but it felt like being punched. He winced as the telepathic frequency surged across the broken bond and the ringing in his ears increased impossibly further.

The ship dinged in apology and flashed her lights instead, gently guiding him towards the zero room.

In the zero room there was a bed that wasn’t normally there and The Doctor went to it gratefully. It didn’t smell like Rose, but that was probably best.

His ears still rang and his chest was still tight but in there it didn’t feel like his head was about to explode.

He choked on another sob as his vision swam with images of Rose.

 

The Doctor didn’t move for four weeks.

The TARDIS flashed her lights when he woke up again.

He blinked confusedly like he always did. He kept hoping one of these days he’d wake up and find that it was all some horrible nightmare. Rose would be next to him back in their bed and everything would be okay again. He squeezed his eyes shut and the onslaught of emotions hit him like a tidal wave all over again and he heaved out a heavy breath.

The TARDIS continued flashing her lights though- directing him towards the door.

He grimaced and shook his head vehemently, refusing to feel the full force on the broken bond. Losing Rose was bad enough.

But the lights continued to flash and the TARDIS dinged apologetically, but still insisted that he left the room.

The Doctor groaned and flung his legs over the side of the bed, wincing as the first real movement in weeks made him feel lightheaded.

As soon as he stepped out the door the broken bond attempted to find Rose again, and sent shock waves rippling through his mind when it couldn’t find her. He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed at his temples. Grumbling to himself as he walked up the ramp towards the console room in order to appease his ship.

When he arrived though there was a strange woman standing there in a wedding dress.

“What?” He let out confusedly.

The woman seemed angry. “Who are you?” She demanded.

“But-” The Doctor sputtered.

“Where am I?”

“What?” He let out again, his brain still refusing to keep up with what was going on. He moved towards the console.

“What the hell is this place?” She shouted at him and he winced at the first real noise he’s heard in weeks.

“What? You can't do that- I wasn't-” The Doctor cut himself off to look at the monitor. “We're in flight! That is- that is physically impossible! How did-”

“Tell me where I am!” She yelled over his confused rambling. “I demand you tell me where I am right now!”

He looked at her for a moment. “Inside the TARDIS,” he answered.

“The what?”

“The TARDIS,” he repeated, trying to make the word clearer.

“The what?” 

“The TARDIS!” He finally shouted a bit, getting aggravated.

“The what?” She’d raised her voice with every time she asked the question and now she was chasing him around the console.

“It's called the TARDIS.” He said firmly.

“That's not even a proper word!” She balled her hands into fists at her sides. “You're just saying things!”

He ignored that. “How did you get in here?” He asked in a low voice, leaning around to look at her.

She scoffed. “Well, obviously, when you kidnapped me. Who was it? Who's paying you? Is it Nerys? Oh my God, she's finally got me back. This has got Nerys written all over it.”

The Doctor was pretty sure that even on a good day he wouldn’t be able to understand a single word coming out of this woman’s mouth. He shook his head. “Who the hell is Nerys?”

“Your best friend!” She bit out.

The Doctor has spoken English fluently for more than 800 years. He spoke hundreds of languages- thousands, some older than the stars. But everything that came out of this woman’s mouth sounded like gibberish. He squinted at her, rubbing at the back of his neck, and finally he noticed the wedding dress. “Hold on, wait a minute. What are you dressed like that for?”

“I'm going ten pin bowling.” She answered sarcastically, and then snapped at him again. “Why do you think, dumbo? I was halfway up the aisle!” He took slow steps back to the console to start pulling at the controls while she ranted angrily. “I've been waiting all my life for this. I was just seconds away, and then you, I don't know, you drugged me or something!”

He looked up at that. “I haven't done anything!” He shouted back, and the words have never been truer.

She wasn’t listening to him though. “I'm having the police on you! Me and my husband, as soon as he is my husband, we're going to sue the living backside off you!” She turned in a circle and finally saw the doors behind her. She took off down the ramp.

“No, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Don't-!” He yelled after her, but cut himself as she flung the doors open anyway. Outside the  _ Ros`ze  _ Nebula was glowing, bright pink and yellow gases swirling out towards the stars. He hadn’t known that the TARDIS had flown them there, but it made sense. His ship was mourning her just as much as he was. His hearts tightened as the scene.

He walked forward slowly. The woman had finally stopped shouting now, and so he spoke quietly. “You're in space. Outer space. This is our-” He cut himself off as the plural pronoun came out on impulse and nearly choked on another sob at the reminder that he was alone. “My… spaceship. It's called the TARDIS.” 

She shook her head. “How am I breathing?”

“The TARDIS is protecting us.”

“Who are you?”

He let out a long breath. “I'm The Doctor. You?”

“Donna,” she answered quietly.

The Doctor looked her up and down. “Human?” He hazarded a guess.

“Yeah… Is that optional?” It was meant to be a sarcastic question.

He rocked back on his heels. “Well, it is for me.”

There was a long pause at that, as Donna sucked in a breath and looked slowly between him and the nebula in front of her. “You're an alien.”

The Doctor nodded, “yeah.” 

There was another long moment where neither of them spoke until finally she wrinkled her nose. “It's freezing with these doors open,” she complained, and The Doctor tried not to roll his eyes as he slammed the doors shut, running back up the ramp.

He didn’t know if she didn’t make sense or if his brain was just incapable of keeping up anymore now that... “I don't understand, and I understand everything. This this can't happen! There is no way a human being can lock itself onto the TARDIS and transport itself inside. It must be-”

He grabbed an ophthalmoscope and shone the light into her eyes.

“Impossible,” he rambled to himself out loud since there was no one in his head. “Some sort of subatomic connection? Something in the temporal field? Maybe something pulling you into alignment with the Chronon shell. Maybe something macro mining your DNA within the interior matrix. Maybe a genetic-”

Donna suddenly slapped The Doctor-  _ hard. _

He staggered back and pulled himself to standing, holding his cheek as he stared at her incredulously. “What was that for?” He demanded angrily.

“Get me to the church!” She shouted.

“Right! Fine! I don't want you here anyway!” He turned back to the console, pulling levers and setting dials back for Earth. “Where is this  _ wedding _ ?” He practically bit out the last word in frustration.

“Saint Mary's, Hayden Road, Chiswick. London. England. Earth. The Solar System.” She ground it all out, stopping as he eyes landed on the women’s shirt draped over the railing.

She marched forward, snatching it up. “I knew it, acting all innocent!” She stomped back towards him and he looked up confusedly at the words. “I'm not the first, am I? How many women have you abducted?”

His vision tunneled as he looked down to the garment in her hand, everything crashing back down around him again and the throbbing in the back of his head increasing in tempo. “That’s my wife’s,” he answered, voice barely above a whisper. She’d left it there a few days before it happened. Kept trying to remind him to fix the loose button.

Donna didn’t back down though, not catching the somber expression on his face. “Where is she then?” She demanded, like she didn't believe him. “Popped out for a space walk?”

“She’s gone.” He could hardly get the words out.

“ _ Gone where? _ ” Donna continued shouting.

The Doctor sniffed, holding back the tears threatening to spill. “I lost her,” he whispered, still unable to say or even think of the word that really described what happened.

“Well you can hurry up and lose me!” She yelled, and then took deep breaths as she watched him remain silent, looking down to the spaceship controls and pressing them with shaking hands. “How do you mean, lost?” She asked, voice somewhere between concerned and still a little peeved.

He glanced back up to her, leveling her with the saddest look she’s ever seen. A long moment passed where they just stared at each other, until finally he took the blouse from her, shoving it in his pocket and running around to the other side of the console. 

“Right! Chiswick!” He exclaimed, like nothing had happened.

Donna was already yelling at him again the second she stepped out of the TARDIS. “I said  _ Saint Mary's. _ What sort of Martian are you? Where's this?” She turned back around to see him stroking the police box

“Something’s wrong with her, it’s like she’s…” he sucked in a breath as he realised what she was doing:  _ mourning _ . In his head the TARDIS whined pitifully and he squeezed his eyes shut at how it amplified his headache. “I know,” he whispered to the ship, “me too.”

Donna’s jaw had dropped as she looked up the the police box, hardly noticing as the alien ran back inside (the bigger inside). She stuck her head in, listening to him rant about if she’d seen anything strange, like lights in the sky. She circled the outside of the box in wonder or horror she couldn’t tell which as he asked if her fiance is human.

She gasped as the reality of it all came crashing down on her, her hands flying to her mouth as she took hesitant steps back from the  _ weird _ thing in front of her.

“Donna!” The Doctor shouted as she turned on her heel and ran.

“Donna,” he started, catching up to her a moment later (damn the heels), and shoving his hands in his pockets as he kept pace with her.

“Leave me alone,” Donna shook her head vehemently. “I just want to get married.”

“Come back to the TARDIS,” he pleaded. 

“No way.” Donna didn’t slow down as she turned the corner. “That box is too weird.”

The Doctor shrugged, “it's bigger on the inside, that's all.”

“Oh! That's all?” She shot back sarcastically, still walking quickly away from the police box. She checked her watch, “ten past three. I'm going to miss it.”

“You can phone them. Tell them where you are.” The Doctor tried to be helpful.

She barely glanced at him. “How do I do that?”

“Haven't you got a mobile?”

That stopped Donna in her tracks, and The Doctor could already feel himself shirking back in preparation for a scolding as she turned to look at him incredulously. “I'm in my wedding dress. It doesn't have pockets. Who has pockets? Have you ever seen a bride with pockets? When I went to my fitting at Chez Alison, the one thing I forgot to say is give me pockets!” Her volume increased exponentially with every word until she was shouting at him again.

The Doctor pressed his lips together, nodding in consideration. “This man you're marrying… What's his name?”

Finally, Donna smiled. “Lance,” she answered dreamily. 

The Doctor tilted his head. “Good luck Lance,” he quipped.

“Oi!” She jabbed an angry accusatory finger at him. “No stupid Martian is going to stop me from getting married. To hell with you!” She yelled, and then picked up her dress and ran away from him.

“I'm, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not from Mars.” He stuttered out, chasing after her again.

Admittedly, helping the furious bride was a welcome distraction from the overwhelming depression that was threatening to swallow him whole again at any given moment. He could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins, spurring him on.

There was a constant whisper in the back of his head, over and over again:  _ she’s gone.  _ But for now, chasing down London taxi cabs with a woman in her wedding dress… it could drown it out. At least a bit.

They both stopped as yet another driver ignored their shouting through his open window.

“Do you have this effect on everyone?” The Doctor asked her. “Why aren't they stopping?”

Donna let out a long breath. “They think I'm in fancy dress.”

Someone called out as they passed them, “stay off the sauce, darling!”

Donna sighed, “they think I'm drunk,” she amended.

Another car with two blokes hanging out the window honked their horn as they passed. “You're fooling no one, mate!” One of them called.

Donna made an offended sort of sound that was at the same time somewhat unsurprised. “They think I'm in drag.”

The Doctor looked her up and down for a second, considering that, and in the end not really finding that it mattered one way or the other. “Hold on, hold on.” He said, sticking his fingers in his mouth and letting out a telepathic whistle, compelling the nearest driver to make an instinctive (if illegal) U-turn in order to pick them up.

“Saint Mary's in Chiswick, just off Hayden Road,” Donna huffed as they slid in the backseat. “It's an emergency. I'm getting married. Just hurry up!”

“You know it'll cost you, sweetheart? Double rates today.” He said.

Donna’s eyes widened at that, turning to look to The Doctor. “Oh, my God. Have you got any money?”

“Er…” He drifted off as he recalled the last few weeks of his life laying comatose in the zero room. “No. Haven't you?”

She glared at him. “Pockets!” She exclaimed again, making a motion towards the complete lack of carrying space the wedding dress afforded.

The driver turned back around at that, dumping them off back where he’d picked them up.

Donna slammed the door with far more force than necessary. “And that goes double for your mother!” She finished her angry rant, as The Doctor stared down at her with wide eyes- she really had a way with curse words, this woman. “I'll have him. I've got his number. I'll have him. Talk about the Christmas spirit.” She scoffed indignantly.

The Doctor looked around him at that, finally noticing all the holiday decorum. “Oh is it Christmas?” He asked lightly, voice picking up a bit.

“Well,  _ duh _ . Maybe not on Mars, but here it's Christmas Eve.” She gasped as she spotted a public phone near the end of the street. “Phone box! We can reverse the charges!” She exclaimed, taking off in that direction.

The Doctor was still stuck on the Christmas thing however. Rose loved Christmas. Was her favourite holiday. The only reason she bothered to keep up with how much time was passing for them. They had eleven Christmases together, but only one with her family. “How come you're getting married on Christmas Eve?” He asked her curiously. 

“Can't bear it. I hate Christmas.” She answered easily as they continued to run. “Honeymoon, Morocco. Sunshine, lovely.” She skidded into the phone booth. “What's the operator? I've not done this in years. What do you dial? 100?”

The Doctor pulled out the sonic and pointed it at the receiver, bypassing the payment. “Just call direct.”

“What did you do?”

“Something… Martian.” He let out because it was easier than getting yelled at if he tried to explain a sonic screwdriver to her. “Now phone. I'll get money!” He sprinted towards the London Credit Bank cash machine on the other side of the street.

The Doctor shifted his weight anxiously back and forth, hopping from foot to foot as the person in front of him took his time. The chemicals were running through his body in a vicious cycle now, periodically amping him up only to remind him a second later that his wife was… He swallowed and thanked no one in particular when he could finally step up to the machine.

He did a quick glance around him before leaning close and aiming the sonic, withdrawing (stealing) a quick hundred quid.

He turned though to see a trio of metal-masked Santas playing God Rest Ye Merry on brass instruments. They turned slowly towards him, bringing their instruments down.

Behind him, he heard Donna yelling. “Taxi! St Mary's Chiswick.” She looked over to him and shouted across the busy square. “Thanks for nothing, spaceman! I'll see you in Court!” And she slammed shut the taxi door behind her.

The Doctor spotted the other metal Santa behind the wheel. “Donna!” He shouted, but it was already too late.

The other Santas were pointing their instruments at him now, so, thinking quickly, he sonicked the ATM— sending hundred of banknotes flying into the streets of London, and the the shoppers flying after them calling it a Christmas miracle.

The Doctor disappeared in the chaos, running for the TARDIS.

“I know, Old Girl.” He apologised as she whined in protest at him flying. “We’ll do it for her, yeah? What would Rose Tyler do?”

He ran around the console, the old motions feeling unfamiliar now without Rose. Like a dance meant for two.

But the adrenaline for the potential death he’d have on his hands spurred him on. He flew the ship like it was a plane, not even entering the vortex as they chased the taxi down the motorway.

The Doctor pulled the twine he had in his pocket out and used it to keep in place the many controls needed to achieve what he was doing- crashing into the road and passing cars accidentally as he did, until finally he caught up to Donna, the TARDIS keeping pace with the vehicle as it sped.

He wrapped the end of the twine in one hand and ran down the ramp to fling open the doors.

“Open the door!” He shouted.

“Do what?” She pressed closer to the closed window of the cab to try and hear him through the glass. 

“Open the door!” He repeated, annunciating more precisely this go round. 

Donna banged on the handle. “I can't, it's locked!”

The Doctor huffed, shoving the string between his teeth in order to pull the sonic out again. 

Donna rolled the window down, “Santa's a robot!” 

“Donna, open the door.” He repeated for a third time, teetering on frustrated now as the TARDIS sparked and groaned behind him with the effort of flying like this. 

She pulled her chin back. “What for?” 

“You've got to jump!”

“I'm not blinking flip jumping!” She shouted. “I'm supposed to be getting married!” 

The robot accelerated away before The Doctor could reply, and he groaned as the taxi weaved in and out of traffic. He pulled on the string to speed up and winced as the console exploded into sparks and started smoking, bouncing off a car for good measure as they flew to catch up.

Finally they reached her. “Listen to me. You've got to jump.” He told her seriously. 

Donna was frustratingly stubborn. “I'm not jumping on a motorway!” 

The Doctor felt a vein pop in his forehead. He should not be having to shout this explanation across a lane of traffic while his home was burning down behind him and his wife was- “Whatever that thing is, it needs you. And whatever it needs you for, it's not good! Now, come on!” He ground out.

“I'm in my wedding dress!” She protested. 

He tried not to roll his eyes, holding out his hand instead. “Yes, you look lovely! Now come on!” 

Donna finally pulled the latch, squealing as the wind forced the door out of her hand. She looked down to the road speeding by at 90 kilometers an hour below her. “I can't do it.” She shook her head, looking back up to him.

“Trust me,” he said, stretching his hand out further.

“Your wife,” Donna said, making his chest constrict and his head pound. “Did she trust you?”

The tears ran down his face without his permission, and he nodded silently, setting her with a look she couldn’t have even begun to define. ‘Meaningful’ didn’t cover it.

She took a deep breath, and jumped into his waiting arms, sending them both crashing to floor as the doors slammed shut.

A moment later they landed on a rooftop and The Doctor pushed her out as he grabbed a fire extinguisher, emptying it into the console room, coughing on fumes and calling for extractor fans.

Donna felt the wind whip around her face as she stared out at the city below her. He joined her a moment later.

“Funny thing is she doesn’t do much flying for a spaceship. Better give her a few hours.” He glanced over to Donna, voice lowering. “Are you alright?”

She shrugged noncommittally, “doesn’t matter.”

“Did we miss it?”

“Yeah.”

The Doctor pressed his lips together, shoving his hands in his pockets anxiously. “Well you can always book another date.”

“Yeah, course we can,” she answered, still not looking over to him.

“You’ve still got the honeymoon,” The Doctor attempted to find a bright side.

“It’s just a holiday now.”

“Yeah… yeah. Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” she let out.

The Doctor quirked a brow at that, “really? That’s a change.”

That brought a smirk to Donna’s face finally. “Wish you had a time machine, then we could go back and get it right,” she mused.

The Doctor rocked back on his heels, instinctively deciding not to tell her. “Yeah, yeah. But even if I did, I couldn't go back on someone's personal timeline… Apparently.” He sniffed nonchalantly.

Donna gave him a weird sort of look at that, and moved to go sit at the edge of the building, looking out on Saint Paul’s Cathedral and the city beyond. After a moment The Doctor shrugged off his jacked and dropped it around her shoulders.

He sat down next her and Donna furrowed her brow at the jacket. “God, you're skinny. This wouldn't fit a rat.”

The Doctor ignored that. “Oh and you'd better put this on,” he pulled out a golden ring.

“Oh, do you have to rub it in?” She moaned.

He smirked, honestly only just then getting the irony. “Those creatures can trace you. This is a bio-damper. Should keep you hidden.” He explained, and then slid it on her finger when she held out her hand. “With this ring, I thee bio-damp.” He joked.

“For better or for worse.” She quipped, and then took a deep steadying breath. “So, come on then. Robot Santas, what are they for?”

“Ah, your basic robo scavenger. The Father Christmas stuff is just a disguise. They're trying to blend in…  I met them last Christmas.”

She stared at him. “Why, what happened then?”

The Doctor looked to her incredulously. “Great big spaceship hovering over London? You didn't notice?”

“I had a bit of a hangover.” She admitted.

The Doctor opened his mouth to say something to that, but thought better of it last minute. He nodded towards the East End of London. “I spent Christmas Day just over there, the Powell Estate, with my-” he cut himself off again, pressing his lips together as the sadness overcame him again. “Family. My wife’s family.”

Donna glanced down to the wedding ring adorning his finger, and saw the deep heavy sadness that weighed his shoulders down and made his eyes look distant. “Your wife,” she started quietly, “who was she?”

There was a long silent moment as The Doctor continued to stare unseeingly out over London. The past tense making his ears ring and his throat burn. He blinked back the tears and sniffed. “Question is, what do camouflaged robot mercenaries want with you? And how did you get inside the TARDIS? I don't know. What's your job?”

Donna blinked for a second as she processed the sudden change in topic. “I'm a secretary.” 

He pulled at the jacket still around her shoulders to get out the screwdriver and start scanning her, shaking his head as he did. “It's weird. I mean, you're not special, you're not powerful, you're not connected, you're not clever, you're not important.”

Donna glared at him. “This wife of yours. Did she ever punch you in the face? Oi!” She slapped his hand away. “Stop bleeping me!” 

He squinted at her. “What kind of secretary?” 

“I'm at HC Clements. It's where I met Lance. I was temping…” Donna proceeded to delve into her love story without The Doctor asking, and he tried very hard to look like he was genuinely interested.

Basically, HC Clements was a posh security key company and Lance, the head of HR, made her coffee everyday. They only met six months ago.

“Anyway, enough of my CV. Come on, it's time to face the consequences. Oh, this is going to be so shaming.” She hit him on the shoulder as she stood up. “You can do the explaining, Martian boy.” 

“Yeah. I'm not from Mars.” He repeated again, following her lead towards the roof exit.

Donna once again ignored him. “Oh, I had this great big reception all planned! Everyone's going to be heartbroken!”

 

“Heartbroken” is not the word The Doctor would have used to describe the affair they walked in on.

Everyone was dancing to Slade’s Christmas album underneath a big disco ball, the lights were flashing and the party was in full swing— all of Donna’s wedding guests, partying despite her disappearance in the middle of the ceremony. Her fiance one of them, dancing really incredibly too close to a tall blonde woman.

Slowly, one by one, they all noticed her standing dumbfounded in the entryway, until finally the music stopped. “You had the reception without me?” She managed to get out, and behind her The Doctor ran his hand along his jaw awkwardly.

Lance finally moved away from the blonde. “Donna, what happened to you?”

Donna didn’t answer. “You had the reception without me?” She asked again, louder and angrier this time.

The Doctor, seeing where this was going, stepped out from around her. “Hello,” he raised a hand in greeting, “I'm The Doctor.”

Donna turned to him incredulously. “They had the reception without me!”

“Yes, I gathered,” he managed, smiling uncomfortably.

The blonde woman crossed her arms in front of her, giving Donna a bored sort of look. “Well, it was all paid for. Why not?”

Donna wrinkled her nose at her. “Thank you,  _ Nerys, _ ” she spit out, and behind her The Doctor nodded—  well that answered  _ that _ question, at least.

An older woman walked forward then, and The Doctor gathered by her demeanor that she was Donna’s mother. “Well, what were we supposed to do? I got your silly little message in the end. ‘I'm on Earth?’ Very funny.” She uncrossed her arms, holding them out in front of her exasperatedly. “Well what the hell happened? How did you do it? I mean, what's the trick, because I'd love to know.”

At that, they all started talking at once, throwing questions at her all together.

Donna shook her head at the noise, finally just bursting into tears and getting them all to shut up. Lance pulled her into a hug and everyone clapped for the happy couple’s reunion (save for Nerys, who rolled her eyes), and Donna looked over Lance’s shoulder to stop her crying for just half a second to wink at The Doctor cheekily.

He tried and failed to hide his smirk at that, just barely managing to keep himself from laughing.

 

The Doctor leaned back against the bar as the party kicked back into gear. The sadness was overwhelming him again as the adrenaline subsided. He rubbed at him temples as the music pounded into his skull.

_ I have wandered, I have rambled, I have crossed this crowded sphere, And I've seen a mass of problems That I long to disappear… _

The Doctor sniffed and looked over to the man standing a few spaces down from with a mobile.

_ Now, all I have's this anguished heart, For you have vanished too. Oh, my girl, my girl, my precious girl, Just what is this man to do? _

He walked over and asked to borrow it to ring a friend. But instead opened up the web browser and did a search from HC Clements. He sonicked it then, letting all of the results flash across the screen in quick succession until finally the only thing he needed to know popped up.

**HC Clements, sole proprietor - Torchwood.**

He handed the phone back and glanced around him as the song continued.

_ So, reel me in, my precious girl, Come on, take me home. Cause my body's tired of travelling And my heart don't wish to roam. _

To his left another blonde woman about Rose’s height was dipped by her dance partner, and in front of his eyes came visions of him and Rose dancing around the console. The room blurred as his chest tightened, and he sucked in a shaking breath.

_ Well, you took me in, you stole my heart, I cannot roam no more. Because love, it stays with you… _

The Doctor spotted the cameraman on the other side of the room and made a beeline for him before he could fall back into a catatonic state.

“Oh, I taped the whole thing. They've all had a look. They said sell it to  _ You've Been Framed. _ I said, more like the News.” He spoke as he rewound the tape, “here we are.” 

The Doctor watched the film of Donna walking down the aisle, until suddenly she was glowing golden, screaming as she turned into dust and flew away. “Can't be…” The Doctor mumbled, “play it again?”

The cameraman reversed the tape and played it back again, speaking as he did. “Clever, mind. Good trick, I'll give her that. I was clapping.”

The Doctor shook his head. For a second she glowed not unlike Rose did when she became Bad Wolf… “But that looks like huon particles…” he whispered.

“What's that then?”

The Doctor looked up, eyes shifting back and forth as he thought that through. “That's impossible. That's ancient. Huon energy doesn't exist anymore, not for billions of years…” He glanced over to Donna and spotted the ring on her finger, the realisation hitting him. “So old that it can't be hidden by a bio-damper!” He exclaimed, running for the exit. He dashed out of the banquet hall and jumped over a bannister to get to window. Outside the robot Santas were approaching- pointing their instruments at the hotel. 

“Donna!” He shouted, running back in and grabbing her by the arm. “Donna, they've found you.”

“But you said I was safe!”

He looked around them anxiously. “The bio-damper doesn't work. We've got to get everyone out.”

“Oh my God, it's all my family!”

The Doctor barely heard her, spotting the back door on the other side of the room. “Out the back door!” He ordered, dragging Donna with him. But when they opened it the robot Santas were waiting. He slammed it back. “Maybe not.” 

Donna could see them now through the french windows. “We’re trapped,” she breathed.

Flashbacks of the Christmas passed hit The Doctor then as he spotted the trees taking up every corner of the room. “Christmas trees…”

“What about them?”

He remembered then, waking up from the regeneration coma to the sound of Rose’s voice. “They kill!” The Doctor jumped into action, running to pull the children away from where they were playing with the shining baubles and hoarding the adults into the center of the room. “Get away from the trees!”

Donna didn’t really understand what was going on, but she did understand that he understood better than she, and it was just safer that she started listening. “Don't touch the trees!” She warned the guests, following his lead.

“Get away from the Christmas trees! Everyone get away from them! Everyone stay away from the trees! Stay away from the trees!”

Donna’s mother scoffed indignantly. “Oh, for God's sakes, the man's an idiot. Why? What harm's a Christmas tree going to-” She cut herself off, all around them the baubles started floating up into the air, covering the room. “Oh…” she breathed, but she didn’t sound scared like she was supposed to.

Instead all the guests started laughing and smiling up at what to them seemed like a magic show.

Until they started firing at them.

The room erupted into chaos as lasers shot haphazardly at the table of presents- sending one man flying into the air and landing squarely on the cake. They all took cover under the tables as explosions filled the room. Six Santas guarded the exits now, and The Doctor stooped near the DJ booth.

“Oi! Santa!” He called, and the baubles stopped discharging as the robots looked to him. “Word of advice. If you're attacking a man with a sonic screwdriver,” he flipped the mic in his hand and spoke into it for emphasis. “Don't let him near the sound system.”

He jammed the screwdriver into the deck, and the loud screeching noise shook the robots to pieces.

The Doctor walked up to the rubble as Donna started trying to help her family and make sure everyone was okay. “Look at that,” he said, picking up the devise one of the robots had been holding. “Remote control for the decorations, but there's a second remote control for the robots. They're not scavengers anymore. I think someone's taken possession.” He inspected the head of one.

“Never mind all that. You're a doctor. People have been hurt.” Donna said, making a motion towards the people around them.

“Nah, they wanted you alive. Look,” he threw one of the baubles to her, “they're not active now.”

Donna huffed at the decoration and looked up to him seriously. “All I'm saying, you could help.”

The Doctor shook his head. “Got to think of the bigger picture…” He drifted off, holding the head up to his ear and hearing the beeping. “There's still a signal!”

He ran out of the building, Donna chasing after him into the courtyard.

“There's someone behind this, directing the roboforms.”

“But why is it me?” Donna begged of him. “What have I done?”

“If we find the controller, we'll find that out.” He held the sonic up to the sky, tracking the signal from the head. “Ooo! It's up there. Something in the sky.”

The ambulance arrived then and Donna left him to direct the EMTs towards the banquet hall.

“I've lost the signal!” The Doctor ran up to her again just as Lance came out the hotel. “Donna, we've got to get to your office. HC Clements. I think that's where it all started.” He spun around to her fiance. “Lance! Is it Lance? Lance, can you give me a lift?

 

In the car Donna turned around to look at The Doctor. He was staring vacantly out the window, leg shaking anxiously. She watched as he twisted the ring around his finger, like a habit, like it had been there a long time. “How many times are you gonna have to save my life before you tell me what happened to her?” She asked quietly, ignoring the look Lance gave her.

The Doctor only glanced over to her, and steadfastly refused the answer the question. He still couldn’t say it. Couldn’t think it. Not without losing what little progress in healing the day had managed to bring him. Not without risking her and the world going catatonic again.

“At least tell me her name.” Donna persisted.

The Doctor swallowed down the lump in his throat. “Rose,” he finally managed. “Her name was Rose.” His ears rung again at the tenses, the broken bond throbbing.

Donna gave him a small smile. “That’s a lovely name,” she whispered.

“Yeah,” The Doctor nodded, and blinked away the tears.

When they finally arrived at the offices The Doctor managed to get his energy back up running to the doors. “To you lot this might just be a locksmiths, but HC Clements was brought up twenty three years ago by the Torchwood Institute.” He started typing madly into the first computer he came across.

“Who are they?” Donna asked, shaking her head.

The Doctor looked up to her. “They were behind the battle of Canary Wharf,” he explained, but Donna just shook her head again. “Cyberman invasion. Skies over London full of Daleks?”

“Oh, I was in Spain.”

He stared at her. “They had Cybermen in Spain.”

“Scuba diving,” she went on, like that explained it.

He squinted at her. “That big picture, Donna, you keep on missing it. Torchwood was destroyed, but HC Clements stayed in business. I think someone else came in and took over the operation.” He ran around the desk.

“But what do they want with me?” Donna asked again.

He turned to her, looking at her seriously. “Somehow you've been dosed with huon energy. And that's a problem, because huon energy hasn't existed since the Dark Times. The only place you'd find a huon particle now is a remnant in the heart of the TARDIS.” (And in Rose, probably, but that was a moot point because-) “See?” He cut off his own morose thoughts. “That's what happened…. Say, that’s the TARDIS,” he picked up a mug from the desk next to them, as well as a pencil, “and that’s you.” He started shaking the pencil. “The particles inside you activated. The two sets of particles magnetised and  _ whap. _ ” He tossed the pencil into the mug. “You were pulled inside the TARDIS.”

Donna stared at his little makeshift visual demonstration. “I'm a pencil inside a mug?”

“Yes, you are. 4H. Sums you up.” He shook the mug around for good measure before setting it back down and turning to her fiance. “Lance? What was HC Clements working on? Anything top secret? Special operations? Do not enter?”

“I don't know, I'm in charge of personnel. I wasn't project manager.” He pulled his chin back as he realised what he was doing. “Why am I even explaining myself? What the hell are we talking about?”

The Doctor pulled up a map of the building on another computer, rambling as he did. “They make keys, that's the point. And look at this. We're on the third floor. And underneath reception there’s a basement, yes?”

“Yeah, so?” Donna asked as she followed him towards the lifts.

“Then how come when you look on the lift, there's a button marked lower basement?” He stepped into the glass car, pointing to the panel. “There's a whole floor which doesn't exist on the official plans. So what's down there, then?”

“Are you telling me this building's got a secret floor?” Lance asked incredulously.

“No, I'm showing you this building's got a secret floor.” The Doctor answered casually.

“It needs a key.” Donna observed.

The Doctor smirked, pulling out the sonic. “I don't,” he said, and zapped the button. “Right then. Thanks, you two. I can handle this. See you later.”

Donna raised her brows at that. “No chance, Martian. You're the man who keeps saving my life. I ain't letting you out of my sight.” She picked up her dress and followed him into the lift.

“Going down,” he quipped, knowing full well he wouldn’t win an argument with her.

She looked to her fiance. “Lance?” She said, and it wasn’t a question so much as an order.

Lance looked around anxiously. “Maybe I should go to the police…”

“Inside.” Donna demanded simply, and he rolled his eyes with a great big sigh before stepping in as well.

“To honour and obey?” The Doctor commented lightly, raising a brow.

“Tell me about it mate,” Lance grumbled.

“Oi!” Donna shouted as the lift door closed shut.

When they stepped out again it was into a damp concrete dimly lit basement corridor, and The Doctor found the utilities cupboard quickly, pulling the door on rusting hinges to find a ladder on its other side.

“Wait here. Just need to get my bearings.” He turned to look at them seriously, pointing his finger warningly. “ _ Don't _ do anything.”

“You'd better come back,” Donna warned him right back as he started up the rungs.

“I couldn't get rid of you if I tried,” he quipped, and Donna couldn’t help but smirk.

He got to the top to find a sort of porthole door- like in a submarine, and he twisted it open, hauling himself up only to find himself standing on Gate 8 of the Thames flood barrier. He turned in a small circle. In the distance he could just barely see the London Eye, where he and Rose-

The Doctor shook his head and started back down, jumping the last few rungs. “Thames flood barrier right on top of us,” he told them. “Torchwood snuck in and built this place underneath.”

“What, there's like a secret base hidden underneath a major London landmark?” Donna asked incredulously.

“Oh, I know. Unheard of.” He replied in mock-disbelief, motioning for them to follow him further into the secret basement.

The two humans followed The Doctor into a laboratory. Tall columns of bubbling water decorated the concrete room in rows. “Oh look at this!” The Doctor exclaimed, spinning in a small circle, “stunning!”

“What does it do?” Donna asked, sticking close to his heels as he ventured further into the lab.

“Particle extrusion- hold on,” he cut himself off to pull one of the small test tubes surrounding the water column. “Brilliant,” he breathed as he studied it. “They've been manufacturing huon particles…” He tilted his head, “course, my people got rid of huons. They unravel the atomic structure.”

Lance’s head snapped up at that. “Your people? Who are they? What company do you represent?” He demanded, leaning around to look at him.

“Oh, I'm sort of a freelancer,” The Doctor answered quickly, ignoring the way his temple throbbed at the lack of amusement he had expected to feel from the other side of the bond. He shook his head slightly as he gestured around them and got back to his point. “But this lot are rebuilding them. They've been using the river. Extruding them through a flat hydrogen base so they've got the end result: huon particles in liquid form.” He held up the tube for emphasis.

“And that's what's inside me?” Donna asked hesitantly.

The Doctor twisted the cap off the tube in answer- inside the glass vile the water started glowing golden, and so did Donna.

“Oh, my God!”

It was hardly the first time The Doctor had seen a woman glow golden, but it had only been one woman in particular before. He swallowed the lump in his throat and started rambling to distract himself. “Genius,” he mumbled, “because the particles are inert, they need something living to catalyse inside and that's you. Saturate the body and then. OH!”

He shouted suddenly, jumping in the air and spinning in a small circle as the realisation finally hit him.

“The wedding! Yes! You're getting married, that's it!” He appeared in her face again. “Best day of your life, walking down the aisle. Oh, your body's a battleground! There's a chemical war inside! Adrenaline, acetylcholine.  _ Wham! _ go the endorphins. Oh, you're cooking! Yeah, you're like a walking oven. A pressure cooker, a microwave, all churning away. The particles reach boiling point.  _ Shazam-! _ ”

Donna slapped him suddenly, sending him whirring backwards.

“Ow! What did I do this time?!” He shouted incredulously, holding his cheek.

“Are you enjoying this?” She shouted right back, and The Doctor fell back on his heels. In his mind he could just barely hear Rose’s simple chide of  _ ‘rude.’ _ Donna took a deep breath, “right, just tell me. These particles, are they dangerous? Am I safe?”

“Yes,” he lied on impulse, scoffing in order to seem casual.

Donna didn’t seem convinced though. “Doctor, if your lot got rid of huon particles, why did they do that?” She challenged.

The Doctor sobered; she’d caught him. “Because they were deadly,” he whispered.

“Oh, my God.”

“I'll sort it out, Donna,” The Doctor spoke his reassurances quickly, before she could start spiraling in worry. “Whatever's been done to you, I'll reverse it. I am not about to lose someone else.”

Donna’s eyes flickered back up to meet his at those last words, taking in the determined set of his jaw and the overwhelming sorrow in his eyes. She’s never believed in a promise more.

Before she could really let that sink in though, a loud hissing voice filled the room. “Oh, she is long since lost,” it said, sounding almost amused. 

At their feet a large hole opened up, descending down into a black inky abyss, making both of them jump back to keep from falling to their deaths.

“I have waited so long, hibernating at the edge of the universe until the secret heart was uncovered and called out to waken!” The voice went on, and all around them the robots appeared, now sans santa masks, but all of them draped in ominous black robes.

The Doctor ignored the robots with their weapons, instead shoving his hands in his pockets as he leant casually over the hole. “Someone's been digging. Oh, very Torchwood. Drilled by laser.” He glanced in the general direction of ‘up’ towards the voice. “How far down does it go?”

“Down and down, all the way to the centre of the Earth!” She proclaimed.

The Doctor furrowed his brow at that. “Really? Seriously? What for?”

Donna hit his arm excitedly. “Dinosaurs!”

He squinted at her, sure he must have misheard that. She rarely made sense, but that seemed particularly out of place. “What?”

She seemed less sure of herself now as she repeated, “dinosaurs?”

The Doctor shook his head in confusion. “What are you on about, dinosaurs?”

“That film, under the Earth, with dinosaurs…” she shrugged, “trying to help.”

He stared at her for a second. “That's not helping,” he informed her dryly.

“Such a sweet couple,” the voice hissed, making both of them tense again.

The Doctor shook it off quickly though, stepping forward to yell at the ceiling. “Only a madman talks to thin air and trust me, you don't want to make me mad. Where are you?”

“High in the sky. Floating so high on Christmas night!”

The Doctor pulled a face like he was annoyed and angry about it. “I didn't come all this way to talk on the intercom!” He shouted, “come on, let's have a look at you!”

“Who are you with such command?”

“I'm The Doctor,” he answered, though it didn’t have nearly as much gusto as it normally did, as he had to cut off the impulse introduction of his wife that almost came tumbling out anyway.

It didn’t seem as the invisible villain cared though. “Prepare your best medicines, doctor man, for you will be sick at heart.” She warned, and a second later a red massive spider-woman appeared on the mezzanine. 

“Racnoss?” The Doctor sputtered, “but that's impossible! You're one of the Racnoss?”

“Empress of the Racnoss,” she corrected.

“If you're the Empress, where's the rest of the Racnoss?” He took a step back, “or, are you the only one?”

The Empress hissed impressively, “such a sharp mind!”

The Doctor nodded, “that's it. The last of your kind.” He turned to Donna, aware suddenly that she wasn’t in his head. “The Racnoss come from the Dark Times, billions of years ago,  _ billions _ . They were carnivores— omnivores. They devoured whole planets.”

“Racnoss are born starving,” the Empress cut in, “is that our fault?”

Donna’s eyes had gotten progressively wider throughout the whole explanation. “They eat people?”

The Doctor nodded grimly before turning back to the Empress. “You shouldn't even exist! Way back in history, the fledgling empires went to war against the Racnoss; they were wiped out.”

“Except for me,” she answered, and it sounded like a threat.

Both of them glanced behind the empress as Lance appeared behind her on the mezzanine, wielding an axe. Donna was about to shout, but he made a shushing gesture just in time.

Donna took that as her cue to start talking. “But that's what I've got inside me, that huon energy thing-” the Empress started to turn her head towards Lance, but Donna called her attention back. “Oi! Look at me, lady! I'm talking! Where do I fit in? How comes I get all stacked up with these huon particles? Look at me, you! Look me in the eye and tell me!”

The Doctor looked over to the ginger worriedly, squinting between her and Lance.

“The bride is so feisty,” the Empress hissed.

“Yes, I am!” Donna yelled somewhat proudly as her fiance continued sneaking up on the massive spider alien in front of her. “And I don't know what you are—you big thing—but a spider's just a spider and an axe is an axe! Now, do it!”

Lance brought the axe up over his head, and the empress turned to hiss at him… and he dropped the axe to his side, doubling over in laughter. “That was a good one!” He cackled, pointing to Donna mockingly, “your face!”

The Empress joined him in his laughter. “Lance is funny,” she said matter of factly. 

“What?” Donna sputtered, looking between them confusedly.

“I'm sorry,” The Doctor whispered, his hearts breaking for her.

Donna shook her head though, still not catching on. “Sorry for what? Lance, don't be so stupid! Get her!” She ordered again.

“God, she's thick,” Lance spit out. “Months I've had to put up with her,  _ months _ . A woman who can't even point to Germany on a map.”

“I don't understand,” Donna whispered, blinking rapidly. 

“How did you meet him?” The Doctor spoke with a low voice as he walked her through the trauma.

“In the office.”

The Doctor nodded, “he made you coffee.”

The wires still weren’t meeting though. “What?” She asked again, looking up to him.

It was Lance who answered though. “Every day, I made you coffee,” he repeated.

The Doctor cut in again. “You had to be dosed with liquid particles over six months,” he reminded her.

Finally it clicked. “He was poisoning me,” she whispered, pulling her chin back.

“It was all there in the job title. The Head of Human Resources.” He growled the last words up towards the man, already feeling a strong sense of protectiveness over Donna.

Lance only smirked evilly though. “This time, it's  _ personnel _ ,” he quipped, laughing at his own joke.

“But…” Donna stuttered, “we were getting married.”

Lance sneered, “well, I couldn't risk you running off. I had to say yes. And then I was stuck with a woman who thinks the height of excitement is a new flavour Pringle.” He started ranting, “oh, I had to sit there and listen to all that yap yap yap. ‘Oh, Brad and Angelina. Is Posh pregnant? X Factor, Atkins Diet, Feng Shui, split ends, text me, text me, text me.’ Dear God, the never ending fountain of fat, stupid trivia! I deserve a medal!”

The Doctor thought he deserved to be punched in the face. “Oh, is that what she's offered you?” He replied, “the Empress of the Racnoss, what are you, her consort?”

“It's better than a night with her,” he threw back.

Donna was the picture of heartbreak, “but I love you,” she said quietly, voice breaking.

Lance looked down at her, tilting his head in mock-sympathy. “That's what made it so easy,” he sneered. “It's like you said, Doctor. The big picture. What's the point of it all if the human race is nothing? That's what the Empress can give me. The chance to go out there. To see it. The size of it all. I think you understand that, don't you, Doctor?”

Before The Doctor could tell him that he didn’t deserve to see the universe, the Empress spoke up again. “Who is this little physician?” She hissed.

Lance lifted his chin smartly. “She said,” he pointed to Donna, “Martian.”

The Doctor sniffed, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Oh, I'm sort of… homeless,” he mumbled, ignoring how the words reminded him of his broken bond.“But the point is, what's down here? The Racnoss are extinct. What's going to help you four thousand miles down? That's just the molten core of the Earth, isn't it?”

“I think he wants us to talk,” Lance grinned amusedly.

The Empress hissed our a laugh, “Yes, I think so, too.”

“Well, tough! All we need is Donna,” he growled.

“Kill this chattering little doctor man,” she ordered, and all around them the robots aimed their weapons at the Time Lord.

Donna jumped in from of him rather heroically, “don't you hurt him!” She shouted.

“No, no, Donna,” The Doctor gently pushed her back behind him again, shaking his head. “It's all right,” he assured her.

“No, I won't let them!” She argued vehemently.

“At arms!” The Empress ordered, and they all cocked their guns.

“Ah, ah now... Except-” he held his finger up, walking forward in an attempt to distract.

She ignored him though, “take aim!”

“Well, well! I just want to point out the obvious-”

“They won't hit the bride,” she interrupted, guessing at where he was going. “They're such very good shots.”

“Just, just, just, just, just hold on. Hold on just a tick. Just a tiny little, just a little tick,” he held up his thumb and forefinger in demonstration. “If you think about it, the particles activated in Donna and drew her inside my ship. So reverse it…” he pulled out the huon particles he’d shoved in his pocket, aiming his sonic at it and turning the knob. “And the spaceship comes to her,” he finished smartly.

“Fire!” The Empress shouted, but it was too late.

All around them the TARDIS built herself, and as the smoke disappeared they were standing in the console room.

“Off we go,” The Doctor clicked his tongue, pulling the  dematerialisation lever as gunfire ricocheted off the blue ulterior shell.

He rambled as they surfed through the time vortex. “Oh, do you know what I said before about time machines? Well, I lied. And now we're going to use it. We need to find out what the Empress of the Racnoss is digging up. If something's buried at the planet's core, it must've been there since the beginning. That's just brilliant.  _ Molto bene! _ I've always wanted to see this. Donna, we're going further back than I've ever been before…”

He looked over to her finally, drifting off as he noticed her convulsing slightly with silent sobs, and even though his back was turned from him, he knew she had tears running down her cheeks. His mouth snapped shut and he continued flying quietly. He pulled the brakes as they came out of the vortex, trying to keep it as smooth as possible.

“We've arrived,” he told her quietly, leaning around the console to see her sitting on the jump seat now. “Want to see?”

Donna shrugged noncommittally. “I suppose,” she answered, not seeming even the least bit interested.

The Doctor let out a long breath. Rose was so much better at this…  _ emotions _ . He pulled the monitor around to himself and wrinkled his nose. “Oh, that scanner's a bit small… Maybe your way's best.” He ran down the ramp and stopped just short of the door to see that she hadn’t moved. “Come on,” he said, tilting his head. “No human's ever seen this. You'll be the first.”

Donna gave a long-suffering sigh as she stood up and followed him to the door. “All I want to see is my bed,” she mumbled.

He ignored that (and his honest internal agreement) in favour of flinging the doors open. “Donna Noble, welcome to the creation of the Earth.”

Outside, rocks floated in and out of massive coloured gas clouds, held in a lax sort of gravitational orbit by the a bright star in the distance.

“We've gone back 4.6 billion years,” he told her. “There's no solar system— not yet. Only dust and rocks and gas.” He pointed to the light peeking through the clouds. “That's the Sun, over there. Brand new. Just beginning to burn.”

Donna shook her head, officially breathless. “Where's the Earth?” She asked confusedly.

The Doctor smirked, “all around us in the dust.”

“Puts the wedding in perspective,” Donna snorted ruthlessly. “Lance was right. We're just…  _ tiny _ .”

The Doctor shook his head vehemently in disagreement with both ‘Lance was right’ and ‘tiny.’ His favourite person in the whole universe was human, and he wouldn’t have anyone saying she wasn’t important. “No, but that's what you do!” He exclaimed, knocking her shoulder a bit. “The human race makes sense out of chaos! Marking it out with weddings and Christmas and calendars…” He sighed, “this whole process is beautiful, but only if it's being observed.”

Donna finally smiled slightly at that small bit of wisdom, “so I came out of all this?”

The Doctor grinned, “isn't that brilliant?”

A large rock drifted past them, and Donna smirked. “I think that's the Isle of Wight,” she quipped.

The Doctor let out a bark of laughter at that, and she chuckled as well. They stared for just a while longer before he went on with his astronomy lesson. “Eventually, gravity takes hold. Say, one big rock, heavier than the others, starts to pull other rocks towards it. All the dust and gas and elements get pulled in. Everything, piling in until you get…” 

“The Earth,” Donna finished, feeling a bit like she was in school again.

The Doctor nodded, “but the question is, what was that first rock?”

Right on cue, an eight pointed star-shaped spaceship emerged from behind the clouds. “Look,” Donna pointed.

The Doctor’s mouth dried at the sight. “The Racnoss,” he breathed. “Hold on. The Racnoss are hiding from the war-” he cut himself off, running up the ramp to check the readings coming off the ship, he squinted confusedly at the numbers and called back over his shoulder to Donna.“What's it doing?”

“Exactly what you said,” Donna answered, nodding out towards the cosmos as the ship pulled in all the gas and dust and rock— the great mop up, it should have been called.

The Doctor rejoined her at the doors. “Oh, they didn't just bury something at the centre of the Earth!” He exclaimed as it all came together. “They  _ became _ the centre of the Earth! The first rock!”

The console exploded then, making them fall backwards up the ramp, the doors slamming closed.

“What was that?” Donna called after him as he ran up to the controls

“Trouble,” he gritted out, yanking on levers as the TARDIS continued to throw them about.

Donna’s knuckles turned white from how tight her grip was on the console. “What the hell's it doing?” She demanded angrily, feeling sick.

“Remember that little trick of mine, particles pulling particles. Well, it works in reverse. They're pulling us back!”

She groaned as they tilted violently sideways. “Well, can't you stop it? Hasn't it got a handbrake? Can't you reverse or warp or beam or something?”

“Backseat driver,” The Doctor grumbled, and then remembered the last time he’d said that to Jack. “Oh! Wait a minute! The extrapolator!” He tossed himself to the side and dove under the console for the surfboard-esque piece of equipment. “It can't stop us, but it should give us a good bump!”

He set it up and yanked down on the dematerialisation lever, sending them reeling again. They landed with a hard thud and scrambled out of the ship before they could try pulling it back again.

“We're about two hundred yards to the right,” The Doctor explained as they started running down the basement corridor. “Come on!”

They stopped at a utilities cupboard, and Donna ignored how out of breath she was. “But what do we do?” She asked desperately.

“I don't know. We make it up as we go along,” he answered quickly, and then winced as the plural reverberated across the broken bond, making his head pound. He glanced over to Donna who didn’t seem to notice his pain, but looked worried at the statement itself. “But trust me, I've got a history,” he assured her, pulling out a stethoscope from his jacket pocket and holding it to the door.

“But I still don't understand,” Donna went on. “I'm full of particles, but what for?”

The Doctor didn’t look over to her as he answered. “There's a Racnoss web at the centre of the Earth, but my people unravelled their power source. The huon particles ceased to exist but the Racnoss were stuck. They've just taken hibernation for billions of years. Frozen, dead, kaput. So you're the new key. Brand new particles, living particles! They need you to open it, and… you have never been so quiet.”

He turned around to find himself standing alone in the corridor— Donna nowhere to be seen. He groaned in annoyance. This wouldn’t have happened if he had Rose. He grumbled angrily in Gallifreyan as he sonicked open the door to reveal a robot pouting a gun at him.

He didn’t even have time to panic before his instincts kicked in. He sonicked the gun, short circuiting the weapon, and then the robot itself. 

It was a control unit. The Doctor made a triumphant noise at the discovery before throwing on the black robe and sprinting towards the drilling sight.

The Empress was speaking as The Doctor entered quietly, so as to not draw any attention. “Activate the particles,” she said, calling up to Donna and Lance who were both tied up in webbing dangling precariously over the hole leading to the center of the Earth. “Purge every last one!”

The two humans both glowed golden, and then the huon particles shot down the shaft.

“The secret heart unlocks, and they will awaken from their sleep of ages!” She announced as miles below them loud hissing and scuttling sounded.

“Who will?” Donna demanded. “What's down there?”

“Oh, how thick are you?” Lance snapped at her.

The Empress simply answered her though, pleased to reveal her plan now that it was in full swing. “My children, the long lost Racnoss, now reborn to feast on flesh! The web star shall come to me! My babies will be hungry. They need sustenance. Perish the web!”

The hissing seemed more menacing now.

Lance didn’t miss a beat begging for his life. “Use her, not me! Use her!”

The Empress laughed amusedly though. “Oh, my funny little Lance! But you were quite impolite to your lady friend. The Empress does not approve!”

Donna thought it was a pretty odd time for the Empress to reveal herself as a feminist, but she appreciated the small gesture it nonetheless.

The webbing holding Lance above the millions of Racnoss below them was sliced, and he fell to his death.

“Lance!” Donna screamed, sobs building in her chest, but already she could hear the spider alien children rejoicing for their feast.

“Harvest the humans! Reduce them to meat! My children are climbing towards me and none shall stop them!” The Empress rejoiced, “so you might as well unmask, my clever little doctor man.” 

She turned towards one of the robed figures making their way up the stairs, and The Doctor spun around, pulling the hood down as he did. “Oh well. Nice try. I've got you, Donna!” He pointed the sonic at her and the web holding her up started tearing.

Donna grabbed onto one of the strands desperately. “I'm going to fall!”

“You're going to swing!” The Doctor corrected, just as the web gave way and the strand she had a grip on swung towards him with her on it. He held his arms out, “I've got you!”

Screaming the whole way, Donna swung over the hole, past the Empress, and right below the landing where The Doctor stood, slamming into the far wall with a loud metallic thud.

“Oh,” he leant over the rail to see her sprawled out on the concrete, “sorry.” 

Donna glared up at him. “Thanks for nothing,” she replied dryly.

The Empress was cackling, unbothered by losing her prey. “The doctor man amuses me,” she hissed.

The Doctor straightened his shoulders. “Empress of the Racnoss, I give you one last chance. I can find you a planet. I can find you and your children a place in the universe to co-exist. Take that offer and end this now.” It was a ultimatum, but he was also pleading with her to take it.

She only laughed harder though, “these men are so funny!”

The Doctor held his ground. “What's your answer?”

“Oh I'm afraid I have to decline,” she sneered.

He shook his head sadly. “Then what happens next is your own doing.”

“I'll show you what happens next!” She called out to her robot army. “At arms! Take aim! And-”

“Relax,” The Doctor interrupted her, and all around them the robots fell limp, their weapons dropping uselessly to their sides. The Empress looked around in obvious confusion.

“What did you do?” Donna asked, still standing below him.

“Guess what I've got, Donna?” He grinned down at her cheekily, and pulled the remote control out. “Pockets!”

Donna stared at the Nintendo-64-esque remote control, nearly as big as his head. “How did that fit in there?” She asked incredulously.

He cocked his head and clicked his tongue, smiling impossibly wider. “They're bigger on the inside,” he answered happily, like it was obvious.

“Roboforms are not necessary,” the Empress interrupted their little banter session. “My children may feast on Martian flesh!”

The Doctor’s expression sobered again instantly at that. “Oh, but I'm not from Mars,” he said ominously.

“Then where?”

Long shadows were cast across The Doctor’s face as he answered, darkening his features. “My home planet is far away and long since gone. But its name lives on… Gallifrey.”

The Empress threw her head back in anger and the second the planet’s name left his lips. “They murdered the Racnoss!” She hissed viciously.

“I warned you,” he told her quietly. “You did this.”

He pulled the explosive Christmas baubles from his pocket, and the Empress screamed at the sight, catching onto his plan before it had begun. “No!” She shouted, but it fell upon deaf ears. The Doctor tossed the baubles into the air and used the remote to direct them. Four flew into various parts of the wall— smashing them open and allowing the Thames to behind flooding the chamber as fires broke out. “No!” She screamed again, as the remaining baubles surrounded her, keeping her hostage. “Don't! No!” She pleaded as the water gushed down and drowned her children, their screams reverberating through the laboratory. “No! No! My children! No! My children! My children!” She sobbed.

The Doctor just stood there, watching. Water poured down on him. Fire burned behind him.

Donna stared up to him in abject horror. “Doctor!” She yelled, and when he looked down to her she could see the pain and sorrow. “You can stop now!”

His head snapped back up, her words seeming to ground him again. “Come on,” he said, motioning for her to come up the stairs, ignoring the continued screams from the empress. “Time I got you out.”

Both of them soaking wet, they found the escape ladder leading to the surface and began climbing up it, spitting out river water as they went, until finally The Doctor was able to push open the hatch and help Donna up. They were standing on Gate 8.

“Just…” Donna breathed, looking around them. “There's one problem.”

“What’s that?”

“We've drained the Thames,” she mumbled, and then The Doctor looked down to see the massive mud pit they were standing in. In the distance a number of boats blew their horns in confusion, and they both couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it.

 

A while later the TARDIS materialised across the street from Donna’s parent’s house, and the two of them stepped out, The Doctor patting the police box appreciatively. “There we go. Told you she'd be all right. She can survive anything.”

Donna snorted, “more than I've done.”

The Doctor pulled out his sonic at that and scanned her quickly. “No, all the huon particles have gone. No damage, you're fine,” he assured her, missing her point.

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but apart from that. I missed my wedding, lost my job, and became a widow on the same day… Sort of.”

_ Widow. _ That word hit The Doctor like a ton of bricks, and he gave her a regretful look. “I couldn't save him,” he whispered.

“He deserved it,” she answered firmly, but she dropped the act as soon as he raised his brows at her. “No, he didn't,” she conceded, letting out a long sigh and looking behind her. “I'd better get inside. They'll be worried.”

The Doctor looked over her shoulder to see her parents hugging in the widow. “Best Christmas present they could have,” he commented lightly, earning a small smile from her. “Oh, wait, no. I forgot, you hate Christmas.”

Donna nodded, almost seeming to have forgotten that herself. “Yes, I do,” she agreed.

“Even if it snows?” The Doctor challenged, smirking as he reached behind him to flick a switch over the door of the TARDIS. There was a bit of tape over it that Rose had put up ages ago on which she’d written ‘for emergency snow days’ in her looping handwriting. His hearts twinged at the memory as he flicked the switch, and overhead a bolt of energy went into the sky, exploding into a snow shower.

Donna laughed incredulously, holding her hands out. “I can't believe you did that!”

The Doctor shoved his hands in his pockets. “Oh, basic atmospheric excitation,” he said sheepishly.

Donna smiled brightly up at him. “Merry Christmas.”

He smirked, “and you…” He drifted off as he realised this was the point in the story where he’d ask if she wanted to tag along— go see the stars and all that. He knew, instinctively, that Donna would be brilliant at it. That much was obvious. And she’d probably be good for him too. Rose always said they needed a companion who would call him (and her) out when needed, and Donna clearly did not have any trouble in that department.

But as nice as it was, allowing the adrenaline to distract him from the overwhelming pain and sorrow for a day, he knew it wouldn’t last. He’d be back in the zero room within the hour if the pounding in his skull was anything to go by. He could hardly show Donna the stars when he could barely see the point in them himself without Rose.

Donna seemed to sense his thoughts, seeing the anguish on his face as he thought of her again. She’s known him less than 24 hours and already she felt she could read him like an open book. “Your wife,” she whispered, pulling him out of his head, “who was she?”

The Doctor felt the hopelessness crawl back up inside him. Instantly his vision swam with memories. How she could light up an entire room just by being in it. How her smile made him stagger backwards with dizziness. How she’d laugh and it sounded like a song, and it made him feel like he was floating. The way her nose twitched when she was trying to solve a puzzle, or how she’d bite her lip as she painted. She rocked back on her heels when she was nervous, and bit the inside of her cheek when she lied. The golden flecks in her hazel eyes glowed bright when she was angry, and her small fists clenched tightly at her sides when there was danger. She always ran headfirst into trouble if she knew there could be someone who needed help, and she never turned her back on anyone. She cared deeply and loved fiercely.

And he loved her. God, he loved her. Every time he looked at her his chest tightened with the intensity of it all, his love for her nearly swallowing him whole constantly.

And now it was pain that was consuming him. He felt the tears threatening to fall over and he didn’t stop them this time as he took a deep breath. “She was everything,” he whispered miserably, “and now she’s gone.”

Donna didn’t know how to respond to that. “Come inside,” she offered instead of useless sympathies. “Have Christmas dinner. Mum always cooks enough for twenty.”

The Doctor shook his head sadly. “Rose loved Christmas. I couldn’t- not without her,” he explained weakly. Already he could feel the full force of the broken bond reverberating through his head again. He needed to get away. Now.

Donna nodded in understanding, but still she had to ask, “am I ever gonna see you again?”

The Doctor smirked, “if I’m lucky.” He stepped back towards the TARDIS but stopped short at the last second, turning back to her. “Thank you, Donna. Good luck… And just be magnificent, yeah?”

She smiled at that, lifting her chin a bit in a determined sort of way. “I think I will, yeah.” She agreed, and The Doctor nodded, spinning on his heel to step back inside his police box.

Donna waved as it disappeared.

  
  


Rose felt the air get sucked out of her lungs instantly as the portal shut behind her. She could feel the bond breaking, but it was like her head was a million miles away from her body.

She drifted through the nothingness. Her ears rang in the silence so loudly it could almost be mistaken for screams, and distantly she wondered if she wasn’t dead.

It was either a millionth of a second or a million years that passed. There was no way to tell. Time didn’t exist in the void (nothing did). But suddenly, Rose wasn’t only herself anymore.

She glowed golden with the light of the Universe and then the void had  _ everything _ in it.

She reached out across the empty expanses, searching for the seams tying the universes together. There were hairline fractures— infinitesimal fractures, only a thousandth of the size of an electron in diameter, but still she pushed against them. All of time and space was held inside her and she focused all of that energy, the whole of the universe, on this one tiny pinpoint of a pinpoint of a pinpoint.

She had to get back to him.

 

The Doctor walked aimlessly around the console, using the last remaining bit of energy he had left to allow the TARDIS to drift back into orbit around the  _ Ros`ze  _ nebula, and he flipped a few switches to make sure they were stabilised before he fell back into a catatonic state.

Just as he was about to turn towards the corridor through, the TARDIS started humming as if in anticipation. He squinted up at the ceiling confusedly (and a lit bit annoyed). Just before he could yell at the timeship though, a golden light filled the console room.

He spun around just in time to see Rose fall to her knees on the grating, gasping for air.

“Rose!” He shouted, running to her before he could even process what had just happened.

She was still glowing, but he didn’t care. He fell down to his knees in front of her and pulled her face into his hands, watching the light subside as she desperately pulled oxygen into her lungs. She smiled weakly up at him, tears glimmering in her eyes, and she was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. “Rose…” he whispered in awe, shaking his head. “How…?”

She reached out to run her thumb along his cheek, laughing breathlessly. “I promised you forever,” she told him, as if that was any explanation for the miracle she’d just performed.

The Doctor laughed incredulously, leaning forwards to press his forehead against hers. Their lips met in a desperate, breathless kiss, and the light that still remained swirled around them as the bond was restored.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everybody's waiting for the next chapter, but I'm just gonna sit here and waste time writing prequel episodes. Sorry loves, I just couldn't get this one out of my head. And I've been really missing Donna recently for whatever reason.
> 
> Hit me up with those comments. Feel free to tell me to get my ass in gear. ❤︎


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